It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: This story takes place directly after season five ends as trouble returns to Storybrooke. While one of the heroes' greatest enemies has come for revenge on one of their own, another unexpected visitor arrives to serve as a distraction. Just when Emma and Killian believe they've been rewarded with their happy ending, they soon find themselves fighting to save Hook's life once more.
1. Chapter 1

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter One

Storybrooke has been quiet since the return of magic and even though Mr. Hyde made an appearance before Regina and Henry claiming that the town now belonged to him after he had made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, who has mysteriously been absent since his disappearance through the portal in New York, everyone who lived there were happy. The heroes still mourned for the loss of one of their own and some of their friends left to return to their lives in Sherwood Forest, but another of their friends was alive once again after his heroic sacrifice to save them from Nimue and the rest of the Dark Ones, Dopey was no longer a tree standing outside of the town line, and there has been no trouble since Gold tried to steal the power for himself. The heroes had won the battles that counted and the new potential dangers Hyde had spoken of from his world had yet to rise up.

Unfortunately, a new danger was coming that would disrupt the peace and very soon. It wouldn't be a surprise for the town's residents, as trouble came for them often, but what no one knew, was that it was coming in form of an old enemy who hasn't made an appearance since the Ice Queen's spell of shattered sight had brought her to the surface. When Regina had crushed her counterpart's blackened heart after drinking Dr. Jekyll's formula to split herself from her dark side, the Evil Queen didn't die like they believed she did after all. And they didn't know that she was now standing just outside of the town line along with an unwilling ally. The Queen had stolen the Dragon's heart in Chinatown in order to get more power on her own side for when the next battle would rise against her enemies.

"Are you certain there is nothing I can say, that will convince you not to do this?" the Dragon asked calmly, though he feared what would happen should the Evil Queen succeed in her plans to defeat all magic's greatest protectors. "They are of no threat to you. The heroes know not that you live. But if you enter…"

"Enough," the Queen responded coldly, without looking back at him as he stood behind her while she examined the protection spell that surrounded Storybrooke to keep all evil and unwanted visitors out. "If you want to live, you will not question my objectives again and you will do as I ask of you because I have your heart."

The Dragon bowed his head despondently and then answered, "I would prefer to die, than to help you to destroy the world."

She turned around and glared at the magical being as she replied, "I don't wish to destroy the world. I plan to rule it. And not just this one, but our own world, as well as all others. I will rule over them all and you will help me, as will others once I've done here in Storybrooke, exactly what it is I have come here to do."

"The Savior and your other half, will stop you," he responded with confidence. "Regina is stronger than you are, even if she still struggles to believe in herself. And Emma Swan…"

"Emma Swan will be far too busy to save Regina from my plans for her, once I distract the Savior and the rest of the heroes," the Queen interrupted again and turned back to the barrier before her, then rose her hands as her magic flowed from them to create an opening large enough for them to slip through without alerting anyone within the town. "I would love to kill the Savior for all the times she defeated me and humiliated me in front of my enemies, but unfortunately she is far too powerful. At least I learned my lesson from the many times I tried to defeat her when she first arrived here. My sister, the Wicked Witch, was smart to steal her magic from her, but even she failed. However, Zelena did get one thing right."

The Dragon raised his hands as well and joined the Evil Queen against the barrier with his own power as he spoke up asking, "And what is that? You will never be able to steal Emma's magic from her as your sister had done. The Savior is far stronger now than she was then. I sensed it when she walked into my shop."

The evil woman smiled as she continued to fight against the magic and answered, "You're right, but I can hurt those she loves to get what I want. She will do anything to protect them, even stand down in her fight against me if there's only one way to save them."

"You cannot hurt her son," the powerful guardian stated sternly. "Regina may be who loves the boy, but though you are her dark side, there is still a part of you who loves Henry too. You and Regina are still connected, even if you are one half of a whole."

"Maybe you're right about that too, Dragon," the Queen replied in frustration. "However, I can hurt her parents. And I can most definitely hurt the man she loves. I've seen how far she will go to save that pirate back in Camelot as he lay dying and again here in Storybrooke when he died in a poor attempt to destroy the darkness. She was willing to put everyone else she loved in danger twice, all for Captain Hook. I know Emma Swan's weakness, just as I know one of his. And that is where we will begin."

Finally, they were able to break through and entered the town in silence. The Evil Queen raised her hand once more and immediately transported herself and her ally to another part of Storybrooke where a dark, murky pool of water rested nearby where they stood upon its shore. The Dragon could feel the evil coming off from beneath. However, he didn't say another word as the Queen slowly walked along the ground before her in silence while she tried to sense something out, then stopped where he could see nothing, but grass and dirt and watched in confusion and worry as she used her magic to dig up a small portion the earth. It rose in front of her and carefully began to separate each of the minerals contained within it until all that was left in the air as it swirled around her was a dark red substance.

The Dragon stared at the thick liquid as he asked curtly, "Exactly what do you plan to do with that? Though I appreciate you chose to gather blood without bloodshed, is there a reason you need the blood that has seeped into the earth in this spot? Whose blood is this?"

She smiled as she willed the fluid over the pond and finally released it as it sank into the water while a ripple of magic burst out, then she stood back and waited, and without waiting for her to respond he asked again fearfully, "Do you realize what it is you have done?"

"Yes, I know exactly what I've done," the evil woman answered smugly. "I have reopened the portal to the Underworld, using the pirate's own blood that he lost when he was stabbed through his chest with Excalibur, right here in this exact spot where I'm standing now. It turns out that all you need to retrieve someone from the Underworld is the blood of someone who has been there and back."

"You are retrieving someone?" the Dragon questioned. "Who?"

The Queen continued to stare out over the water as the fog rolled in and said, "Someone who will serve as the perfect distraction I need. And while the Savior and her family are all too busy trying to protect Hook, I will find the weak, cowardly woman who tried to destroy me, then make her pay. I have waited too long for the moment when I would finally be free to return to my former glory. And now, that time has finally come."

The Dragon turned his head when the boatman appeared through the fog as it parted, and while he strained to see the soul of whoever she had summoned Charon to bring forth from the hell below, she continued, "This man will not be too pleased to see me."

"Did you kill him?" he asked.

"No," the Evil Queen replied callously. "Not directly I didn't. I manipulate others to get what I want, just as I manipulated the very man who did kill him. The thirst for revenge is powerful and now I can help this man get it too."


	2. Chapter 2

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Two

 _"Why?" Emma asked as she glared at the man before her holding the Olympian crystal within his hand as he slowly raised it and pointed it at the Savior and the rest of the heroes standing behind her. "After all we did to try to save you, this is how it ends? All of us dying down here in the Underworld where you've taken up Hades' reign?"_

 _"I knew I should have killed him a long time ago," Regina added coldly. "At least back when he first sailed into Storybrooke. Robin would still be alive if it weren't for you, pirate. And now I've lost yet another love."_

 _Killian lowered his eyes to keep from looking at them as he replied despondently, "It didn't have to end this way. None of you should have come after me. And now you're going to suffer. I'm sorry."_

 _David stepped in front of his wife to protect her as he responded, "No, please! We can fix this."_

 _"Not this time you can't," Hook answered cruelly and suddenly fired a bolt of lightning from the crystal at David, striking him down where he stood as Snow and Emma screamed with fear and rage when he fell to the ground dead. "You should have known this would happen one day the moment you met me. But instead you chose to see the good in me that isn't there."_

 _"Mom!" Emma shouted again as Killian struck Snow White down as he had done to her father, then immediately did the same to Henry and Regina as the Queen attempted to shoot a fireball to stop him before he could kill anyone else, only to fail as she too was killed before she could. "Henry! Regina! No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Hook… You really are a monster."_

 _The pirate Captain looked into the Savior's eyes at last as a single tear slipped down his cheek and then replied cruelly, "I tried to warn you, love. But for what it's worth, I am truly sorry. Goodbye, Swan."_

 _Without any more hesitation, Hook raised the Gods' crystal once again and fired a final bolt of lightning directly into the heart of the Savior causing Emma to cry out in agony as she fell to the ground just as her parents, her son, and Regina had. And when the heroes were dead, he turned to walk away from their bodies and took a seat upon Hades' throne._

All of a sudden, Killian's eyes burst open as he gasped awake, then swiftly sat up from the bed where he was lying and moved around to sit on its edge with his feet on the floor of what he found to be was his and Emma's home he had picked out for them for when they returned from Camelot, not knowing that there would an extra journey into the Underworld before their happy ending could become a reality. When he realized he had just woken from no more than a nightmare, he dropped his head into his hand and discouragingly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Emma awoke quietly as Killian raised himself from his side of the bed and immediately saw his distress, especially after she noticed the sheen of sweat that covered his bare back and neck. It wasn't the first time she figured he had been startled awake by a nightmare within his long life, but it was the first time she knew about. Even though they've been home for a few nights now, tonight was their first night spent together since their return from the Underworld, as Hook needed a few nights alone on his ship, but it was apparent that those nights weren't enough.

Emma sat up slowly and gently wrapped her arms around him, then she spoke quietly saying, "It's all right, Killian. You're home. You found your way back to me."

"I had nothing to do with my return from the Underworld," he responded as he reached up to touch the back of one of her hands resting against his chest, then turned his head to the side to look over at her. "It was all Zeus."

"You needn't be so modest," she stated calmly. "You were a part of Hades' defeat the same as the rest of us, which is why Zeus rewarded you by returning you back to where you belong, back to me. Without your effort to find the pages he hid and to get them back to us, we never would have known how to defeat Hades. He may have had the crystal already, but Zelena wouldn't have known she could use it on him to kill him and he most likely would have killed Regina and possibly me too, then would have gone on to wreak havoc on the rest of the town."

Killian didn't say anything and when she knew he wasn't going to, she reached up to his face to trace her fingers over his cheek as she asked worryingly, "What's wrong, Killian? Were you dreaming you were still trapped down in the Underworld again?"

He smiled and then answered, "I didn't realize that you knew I've dreamt of being so before. Aye, it was something like that. I had hoped that a few nights alone onboard the Jolly Roger would have helped to put these nightmares at bay. I was wrong. But it doesn't matter. I'm sorry for waking you."

"You don't have to apologize," Emma replied. "What did you dream of? You know you can tell me."

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Hook responded while he took her hand in his, then looked over at his hook and brace lying on the nightstand beside the bed, as he always removed it when he slept, instead of leaving it attached to his left arm. "Another time perhaps. It's still the middle of the night. You should try to go back to sleep. I promise, I won't go anywhere."

Emma smiled sadly while she leaned in close to kiss him, then was about to lie down until her eyes caught a glimpse of his back as she noticed there were several scars she had never seen before, even though they were clearly from long before they met, and when he realized what made her appear to be upset, he quickly stood and picked up his shirt from the floor to pull it back on until she stopped him.

She reached out to turn on the light, then stood up beside him, pulling the sheet up from off the bed and draped it around herself to keep covered as she asked fearfully, "Killian, where did these scars come from? This isn't the first time we've laid together, but I've never noticed these before, though I should have. They're obviously not from your time in… well you know where. They would have disappeared when I healed you and these are years old. Maybe centuries old?"

As he tossed his shirt down on the bed, Killian answered despondently, "I have many scars, love. The hazards of being a pirate for as long as I've been."

"Please tell me about them," she replied sternly, though her face was soft as she looked into his eyes and he into hers. "I have so much more to learn about your past and I really want to know everything, like you already know everything about me."

"You know what's most important," he responded in frustration. "You know of the kind of man I was, including many things I've done. But these scars… They're a heavy reminder of some of the things I am most ashamed of in my life. I'd rather not burden you with tales of my sordid past."

Emma pulled him back down onto the bed so they were sitting beside each other, then she answered, "You don't have to hide who you were from me, Killian. You're right, I do know who you were and you don't have to hold onto that burden or keep it to yourself. These scars have something to do with your father, don't they? Perhaps part of the reason why you…"

Hook interrupted curtly, "Why I killed him, you mean?"

"I'm sorry," she replied as she bowed her head sadly until she raised it up and put her hand once again over his cheek in order to get him to look at her. "I didn't mean to drudge up the pain you've pushed down after all these years. At least, I didn't mean to hurt you. I know how much you struggle with forgiving yourself for certain things that you've done, but no matter what, I still love you. I always will love you. The man who killed your father, isn't who you are anymore."

"Aye, of course you're right," he responded after he regained his usual composure. "All right, we'll talk. But get dressed, Swan. Let's go for a walk."

A short time later, the two lovers were slowly walking along the beach while the moonlight shined down on them and continued on with their conversation as Killian said, "I am not exactly sure where to begin. I've lived many years and there's a lot you don't know, not because I've been trying to keep secrets from you. It's just…"

Emma finished for him as she answered, "I know. Just tell me about how you got those scars for now."

"They do have something to do with why I killed my father, but not for reasons you might think," he replied quietly. "He never hurt me, at least not like this. I once looked up to him as I did Liam. I believed he could do no wrong, but like for Liam I raised the bar too high and he let me down in ways I never could have imagined. When I was a boy about your son's age when I first met the lad, my father bartered passage for us onboard a pirate ship during our many travels and one morning during this voyage, I awoke to discover that our father had sold Liam and I to the ship's captain, into servitude."

"My God, Killian," the woman he loved stated in repulsion over Killian's devastating childhood, making her own seem not nearly as bad as she believed. "I can't… I can't even begin to imagine how horrible that must have been. It's no wonder why you've never spoken of it with anyone until now."

He nodded and then continued on saying, "Remember I told you how Liam had helped an old crew of ours to move on in the Underworld? Silver was the Captain of our crew. They moved on, but he didn't. Hades forced him into that boiling sea for trying to punish Liam and me without him. Silver was a vile man, but even he didn't deserve that fate."

Emma sighed and then asked, "I take it that he did this to you then? The scars on your back, I mean. They're lashes from a whip. He used to beat you, didn't he?"

"Yes, though not as badly as he had done to Liam at first," Hook responded as he began to look off in the distance while he spoke. "My brother took a lot of the blame for things I did in the beginning to try to protect me from the Captain's wrath, though it wasn't long before Silver became wise that the trouble that occurred and crimes committed against the crewmen was caused by me and not Liam; the theft of food and water, money, and the many times I tried to escape… I didn't share the same discipline he had for hard work and knowing when to stay out of trouble. I was a handful for both my brother and our crew for as long as we were Silver's slaves and they despised me, but they kept me around in order to keep Liam in line, as he would have refused to work even at the cost of his own life. That, and because they enjoyed having someone around they could torment. We were that bastard's slaves for over fourteen years before the deal Liam had made with Hades changed our circumstances, though I obviously didn't know about it at the time."

"I'm so sorry," she answered solemnly, then changed the subject. "When we first met as we were climbing the beanstalk, when you told me you recognized I had been abandoned by my parents from the same look on my face that you had seen on the faces of the lost boys because they had been abandoned too, that an orphan is an orphan, you were really talking about yourself. Weren't you?"

Killian smiled as he replied, "Aye, I suppose I was."

Before she could say anything more, an expected visitor cautiously walked up behind them, then stopped when they turned around upon sensing someone was there, but when Killian saw the man's face, he took a couple of steps back in fear while Emma tightened her grip on him as she looked between him and the man and asked worryingly, "Killian, what is it? You know him?"

"Yes ma'am," the stranger responded for Hook when he didn't say anything. "He knows me well. Hello, Killian."

"Father?" Hook answered in shock. "You can't… can't possibly be here."


	3. Chapter 3

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Three

Centuries ago...

A young man nearly sixteen years of age walked swiftly through the streets of the port his owner's ship, the Silver Doubloon, had docked at while carrying the supplies the Captain had sent him out to pick up while he and the men under his command either left to enjoy a night out in the taverns for drinks, gambling, and women, or remained onboard to clean, gamble, and sleep.

The teenager hated to leave for any length of time and it wasn't because he necessarily minded the work or gathering the supplies for the men, but because he had a younger brother that was always forced to stay behind, as a number of the men had come to enjoy tormenting the twelve year old. Killian was always quick to get angry at the men's insults, yet too weak to defend himself against their onslaughts when he attempted to lash out at them. So, Liam would always get what he needed as quickly as possible and rush back, hoping that his brother hadn't done anything to provoke them while he was gone.

It was late one night when Liam returned to the ship and found a number of the pirates onboard hackling and cheering as two others trussed Killian's wrists to one of the masts as the boy screamed and struggled against them. Liam ran onto the deck and dropped the supplies as he rushed toward his brother, but was immediately pulled back by Captain Silver, who stood nearby and did nothing to stop his men.

He fought to pull away from the Captain's hold until two more of the pirates grabbed onto him to hold him for their leader, then Liam looked at the man as he asked fearfully, "What are you doing? Please, leave my brother alone! He doesn't mean to be a handful. He's just scared and angry."

Silver scoffed and then spoke up saying, "Yes, we know. Because he's been abandoned by his good for nothing, deadbeat of a father and forced to work as my slave for the rest of his pitiful life."

"I'm not your slave!" Killian shouted angrily as the men stepped back while another of them walked up from below deck carrying a long leather whip in his hands. "I'll never be your slave!"

"You're wrong, boy," the Captain answered cruelly. "You will always be a slave, my slave, because no one cares about you and they never will. Your brother here is the only reason why I haven't had my men drag you onto that plank and throw you off."

Liam struggled again against the men still holding onto him and asked curtly, "What did he do this time? Did he steal more of your food? He's only hungry. A few pieces of hardtack and a glass of goat's milk a day is barely enough to live on."

One of the pirates laughed and then replied, "Hardtack and goat's milk is more than this brat deserves."

"And we all know that you sneak him as much of your own food that you think you can get away with," another of them added. "You're lucky the Captain's willing to give you some of our meat and bread at all."

"The older kid may be far more obedient than his brother, but if you ask me…" a third man continued until Silver cut him off as he stepped closer to Killian until he was just a few feet behind him, then reached out for the whip and took it when his crewman handed it over to him.

Liam watched in fear as the man in charge of the pirates snapped the whip in the air only inches from his brother's face and then quietly pleaded, "Please, don't do this. Let me take his place like you used to allow me to do. I'll do anything you want. Just please don't hurt him again."

Captain Silver turned his head to look at the teenager and responded, "I'm afraid that won't be happening anymore, son. Your brother has had plenty of opportunities to learn his lesson, but he's too much of a fool to do it. Do you really want to know what he's done? I caught your brother trying to run away as he was packing what few clothes the two of you own, after he stole one of my men's money pouch. Killian here was caught trying to escape. Isn't that right, son?"

"I'm not your son!" the twelve year old cried angrily.

"That's right," the leader stated coldly and suddenly struck the whip across Killian's back, causing him to cry out in pain as Liam immediately stomped on a foot of one of the men holding him, then rushed forward to protectively stand between his brother and the man hurting him. "Move out of the way, Liam. Or the chastisement your brother receives will be far worse than the ten lashes I plan to give him. Step aside and I'll let you care for him afterward. Or so help me, I will have you thrown into the brig, while my men treat him how they see fit. What will it be?"

Liam looked sadly into his brother's eyes as Killian stared at him weakly through the corners of his, then he turned away in defeat and slowly stepped aside so that the Captain could continue on with his punishment. Silver motioned for the two men who were holding Liam back before to step forward to hold him once more, then he recoiled the whip and swiftly struck it across Killian's back again and again until the ten lashes he intended to give were finally over with.

Silver's first mate stepped forward as he pulled out a knife he wore in his belt and cut through the cords binding the kid and did nothing to help when Killian collapsed against the ship's deck. He was still conscious, but barely as he struggled to keep from crying in front of his tormentors.

Silver chortled and turned back to Liam again as he said, "All right, now you can drag him below deck to the brig and treat his wounds. Be sure to grab the keys to the cells from Felix on your way down. Your brother will remain there for the next two days where he'll be able to think on his actions. When you're through, come back up and then start on the chores. It's going to take you longer tonight because you get to do Killian's as well. When you're done, then you can eat. And Liam, try to knock some sense into him, would you? Otherwise, I'll give my men permission to have whatever fun they want with him from here on out. And there won't be anything you can do to help him."

As soon as he was able to, Liam rushed to his brother's side and carefully picked him up in his arms to carry him down below. It wasn't too hard. He was four years older, but Killian remained small for his age thanks to nearly two years of mistreatment by their captors. The only reason why Liam wasn't in in the same condition, was because he had to be obedient for Killian's sake.

As he laid his brother down on the floor of one of the cells, Liam ran his hand gently over Killian's head as he whispered, "It's going to be all right, little brother. I won't ever give up on you, no matter how many times you get yourself into trouble. I promise you, one day we will be free. And when that day comes, we'll have our own ship and sail every realm. Just you wait and see."


	4. Chapter 4

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Four

Emma stared at the stranger before them in shock as Killian faltered when he stuttered the last words out of his mouth, then fell silent and turned away from him while he struggled to come to terms with seeing his father again after their last confrontation had led to him killing him. Though it was just as much of a surprise for the man to be somewhere other than in the Underworld, he seemed to smile upon seeing his son's discomfort and then reached out his hand to introduce himself to the beautiful woman standing beside Killian.

Emma refused to take his hand as she kept her arms around the man she loved, then while she glared at him, the stranger lowered his arm and said calmly, "Mademoiselle, I'm Brennan Jones. As you obviously know now, Killian's father. Killian… I realize that my arrival is a bit of a shock to you, son. I'm not exactly sure how it is I've come to be here myself. I was trapped in that terrible world of the dead for many years until…"

Without back turning around, Hook interrupted worryingly, "The only way you could have been freed from that place is if someone here reopened the portal and summoned the boatman in order to bring you here."

"Which means the only person who could've done it… Gold," Emma finished for him and looked over at Brennan once again. "Why did he do it? You must have seen him when you first arrived here. What does he want with you? Whose body do you plan to steal so that you can live again?"

"Please, I can only imagine how difficult and confusing this must be for you, for both of you, but if we could possibly go somewhere where we can talk," Brennan responded.

Killian finally turned back around as he replied steadily, "I think here is as good a place as any to talk. Please, just answer Emma's questions. What is Gold after?"

The man sighed and then answered, "I assure you both, I don't know of this man you speak of. And I wasn't brought here to this world by anyone else either. After word spread in the Underworld that Hades was destroyed by a group of heroes from a magical world called Storybrooke, things down there began to change. A King by the name of Arthur Pendragon has taken up Hades' reign and has made it possible for so many of us souls to be able to move onward, to wherever we are meant to go rather than remain trapped. However, I couldn't just move on, at least not without seeing you again, Killian. I wanted to…"

"You're not telling us what we need to know," Hook responded more sternly. "If you didn't move on, how did you wind up here?"

"With Hades gone, it appears that the rules down there are different now," he replied in frustration.

Emma shook her head and answered, "If that's really true, then a lot more souls who were trapped down there would have risen up and returned to our world, but the only person who's done it, is you. I certainly know of at least a few others who would love to return here to Storybrooke to get revenge on a few of us."

Killian looked over at Emma as he responded, "If my father does speak the truth, then we should talk to your parents and Regina and get her to place a different protection spell over our town around the pond in order to prevent anymore from coming back for, well as you said. Or perhaps try to find a way to close the portal permanently so that no one can escape into the rest of the world either."

"Killian, he's lying," she whispered as they both turned away from the newcomer so that he couldn't hear what they were talking about. "I don't know if he's lying about everything or what part of his story might be true, but he is definitely lying about something."

"Gold has to have something to do with this," Killian replied angrily. "He's made some kind of deal with Hyde, who now believes that Storybrooke belongs to him. Just because we haven't seen that Crocodile since he disappeared in New York, it doesn't mean he's not back."

When Killian rubbed his hand over his face in distress while trying to hide the tear that slipped down his cheek, then ran his hand through his hair, Emma tightened her grip on him as she turned his head up to get him to look at her and asked out of concern, "Are you all right? I don't really know what to say about your father's arrival, but…"

Killian glanced over at him, then turned back to the woman he loved and answered miserably, "I don't know what to say either. The last words he ever said to me were, 'It's never too late. You can change and be a different man.' Just after I plunged a dagger into his chest to kill him. I watched as he lay on the ground dying and felt nothing, but anger for all the pain he caused me. However, my father was right. I was able to change and became a better man because of you, Emma. But it doesn't change what I did to him. I can't… I'm sorry, Swan. I need some time alone. Be careful."

"Killian, please!" Brennan called out to him when his son walked away and attempted to go after him, but Emma quickly moved to stand in his way to stop him as she placed her hand out to hold him back until her hand phased right through his chest, having forgotten that here in Storybrooke the man was only just a spirit even if down in the Underworld the living could feel the dead.

"You're not going to go near him, not now and not ever if that's what he wants," the Savior spoke up again coldly as she glared back at the man still standing in front of her. "Killian hates himself for what he did to you, however long ago it was. And he's lived with that guilt all this time, but he isn't that man anymore. He's not a pirate, or at least… he's not the Captain Hook that everyone who knows his reputation fears. Killian is a good man and I swear if you do anything to hurt him, I will find a way to send you right back down to the Underworld and into the fire that leads to Hell."

Brennan stared at her with surprise on his face until his eyes softened and then he responded, "I can see that he isn't the same man anymore, Miss. Swan is it? And I can also see from the way you look at him, that you love him very much, as he loves you."

Emma stepped back and replied, "You're right. Killian died not that long ago when he sacrificed himself to save me and my family, as well as the rest of the people here in this town. I travelled down into the Underworld to find him and bring him back home. My family and I, we fought against Hades and risked our lives in doing so. We lost one of our friends, but we defeated the God, all for your son. So yeah, I do love him. And I will protect him."

"I only want to make things right if I can," the man answered honestly, though she suddenly felt an uneasy sense that there was something more hidden behind those words as he said them. "So what now?"

"Now, we're going into town and having a talk with my parents and Regina just like Killian suggested we do," she responded as she pulled out her phone and quickly sent off a text to David and the Queen, asking them to meet her at Granny's in the ten minutes it will take for her and Brennan to walk there. "And by the way, I just realized Killian must have told you why he had done what he did to you."

He nodded as he replied, "You mean, why he killed me? Yes he did. He said it was because the Queen had enlisted him to do so, though I'm not sure what I ever did to make her want me dead. He only said he agreed to do it so that she would give him a way to get his revenge on Rumpelstiltskin. Did he succeed?"

The Savior answered steadfastly, "He found it in his heart to give up his thirst for revenge against that monster because Killian is a good man. But that isn't why I brought up Regina. I'm trying to warn you, the Queen lives here amongst us and she's no longer the evil woman she was back then either. She's a friend, a very good friend."

Brennan looked at her in confusion for a moment until he lowered his head to keep his eyes on the ground while he followed behind her as she began to walk. The truth was, most of what he told the Savior and his son in the beginning about how he had escaped the Underworld was a lie. The Evil Queen had been the one to pull him out, but he didn't know that she had been split from the good part of her, that there were now two very different women who were both Regina.

"I see," the man stated. "I will try to keep my mind open when I see her. Although, you know that I can't actually do anything to hurt her if I wanted to, seeing as I'm still no more than a ghost who simply wants to understand why he's here, the same as you. You can't actually say it, can you?"

"Say what?" Emma asked curtly as she turned her head to glance at him before turning back to the ground ahead of her.

He shook his head as he responded, "You can't actually use the words that show you understand that my son actually killed me. Since we've started talking, you've said each time something along the lines of, 'what he did to you,' or 'why he did what he did to you,' but you've never actually used the words, 'why he killed you.' Why is that?"

She immediately stopped walking, then turned around to face him and replied angrily, "I know that Killian did kill you, Mr. Jones. I really do. Killian made a lot of mistakes and was a villain for a long time. I've seen his dark side. Just as I've seen Regina's too. However, I've forgiven both of them because they've changed. Killian has been fighting darkness for his entire life, words that your other son, Liam said to me when we met him down in the Underworld, but he's worked very hard to become the man he is now. It's one of the things that I admire most about him. Yet it's only a small reason why I love him so much."

"You really are an amazing woman," Brennan answered sincerely. "I'm glad to see that Killian's found someone like you."

"Coming from you, that doesn't mean very much," Emma responded coldly as she started walking again.

The man scoffed and replied, "So, he has told you why he hates me and why it was so easy for him to kill me."

She shook her head, then answered, "He's told me enough. I know you abandoned him and that you sold him and his brother into servitude, to a vile pirate. I used to think my parents were cruel for abandoning me. But it turns out they did what they did to save me and so that I could return to them one day to save them. They actually love me. We're at Granny's now. We'll talk more inside with the others. Come on."


	5. Chapter 5

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Five

Meanwhile…

After she watched the boatman of the Underworld disappear into the fog as the portal closed behind him, then took time to speak with the apprehensive, Brennan Jones, the Evil Queen transported herself and the Dragon to where they could set up refuge in until she was able to defeat the heroes once and for all; the cabin within the woods where Rumpelstiltskin had hid out along with Ursula, Cruella, and Maleficent when he first returned to Storybrooke after he had been thrown out by his wife months ago until the villains' plans had once again become thwarted.

While the evil woman knew that her own arrival in Storybrooke wouldn't be too surprising for Gold or exactly welcomed, she figured that if there was anyone she could pull into her plans to help her take over this magical part of the world, it would be him; for now. At least until she could find a way to cut him out of her plans in order to take all power for herself.

When she walked inside, the Queen was surprised to find that someone else had gotten the idea to take up refuge within the small lodge, as she found a large workplace had been set up containing strange scientific devices and mechanisms, potions, and magic that were all laid out and were currently operating.

As she walked up to the lab to examine the contraptions as they worked, the Dragon remained behind her as he said quietly, "None of this is the work of the Dark One. He doesn't need science to commit his evil deeds."

All of a sudden, another man walked into the cabin behind them as he replied curtly, "No the Dark One doesn't. But I on the other hand prefer these methods over simply just magic which beings such as yourselves possess."

"Who the hell are you?" the Evil Queen asked angrily as she glared at the stranger now standing before her. "And why are you here in a cabin that belongs to a monster far more powerful than you obviously are?"

"Because like you, I needed a place where I can work free and clear away from the heroes that reside in this town, until myself and the rest of my friends from my own land can make our first stand against them," the man answered without fear. "Yes, I do know who you are, Your Majesty. We've met, or at least I've already revealed myself to the simple Regina and that child of hers. However, I've been far more interested in getting to know you. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Hyde, a friend… or rather an associate of Rumpelstiltskin's. My instinct is to find a way to steal his dagger and run it through his dark heart, but then so far he has become a necessary evil for me to align myself with until I can find a way to defeat these so called heroes without his help. And then I will destroy him too."

The Queen looked at him cautiously as she asked again, "You do not fear me?"

He chortled and then quickly responded, "Oh no, on the contrary. I admire you, or at least I did until the good part of you managed to overshadow you and hide you away."

"You act as though you expected Her Majesty to come," the Dragon spoke again as he glared at the villain as Hyde slowly began to circle around the two of them.

"I didn't expect it," he replied as he turned to the man standing with the Queen. "I only hoped. And here she is, though I do not believe I know who you are."

The man of magic stated coolly, "I am the Dragon. And I do not work for her of my own freewill."

The Evil Queen quickly corrected him as she answered, "What he means to say, is that you don't have to worry about him trying anything against either one of us. I have his heart, making him completely under my control. I will admit, I am looking for others to align myself with for now to help me get exactly what I want, which is to rule all known worlds, both magical and otherwise, as well as revenge on my other self for keeping me at bay for so long and then thinking that she can be rid of me by crushing my heart. Luckily, I knew exactly what she wanted, as I was once a part of her, even if I was dormant until now. So, when we split apart and I emerged, I immediately enacted a spell that would protect my real heart as I created a decoy for her to crush and made her believe that she had succeeded in destroying me when I turned myself into a pile of ashes. Fooling her was so simple, because she wanted to see me destroyed so desperately. Fooling the Savior and Snow White on the other hand… That I didn't expect would be so easy. Luckily for now, they don't appear to suspect otherwise."

"I knew I liked you for good reason," Hyde responded smugly. "I have the same wish for my own other half, Dr. Jekyll. You wanted an ally, I can help you. Rumpelstiltskin might be a little more difficult to convince unless you have something to hold over him as I did, until I gave the box containing his wife back to him and showed him what he needed in order to wake her from the sleeping curse she's under when we made our deal."

"Surely I can come up with something," she replied and then stepped back outside and noticed for the first time a vast number of tents, camps, and other shelters set up throughout the woods as far as her eyes could see. "These are the people from your own realm? How did they get here to Storybrooke? And how is it that the heroes haven't discovered them yet?"

The monster smiled as he stepped up beside her as he too looked out over the woods, then answered, "Yes, they are from where I come from, in a place we like to call the Land of Untold Stories. And they are another part of deal made with the Dark One. He felt as strongly as I did that they could be of help to us in defeating our enemies. They haven't found us yet, because I've created a shield of sorts, or a cloaking spell to help hide us, just as we hid under it back in our own world from unwanted guests who didn't belong. But soon we will all finally be free to be who we are and not have to hide away from anyone ever again."

The evil woman smiled and then looked over at him as she asked, "Are there any among them who stand out to you? Those who have the strength and power needed against the heroes who might be of more use to us than the rest?"

"I know of a few," Mr. Hyde responded smugly once again. "A man who calls himself Dorian Gray, an expert swordsman and immortal so long as he doesn't catch a glimpse of his true image portrayed in a covered up painting that he is forced to keep with him wherever he travels. A very powerful sorcerer named Jafar, who was defeated and destroyed by his own enemies until someone mysteriously found a way to resurrect him from his ashes. He has yet to learn who it was who helped him, though that power could come in quite handy."

"Actually, that isn't necessarily true," the Queen replied. "I have already put a part of my plan into action thanks to a little help from the blood belonging to one of these heroes you've already had the pleasure of meeting, Captain Hook. Hook recently became resurrected himself thanks to some God who calls himself Zeus. And because he's been down to the Underworld, his blood allowed me to reopen the portal to the Underworld so that I could bring his father here to serve as a distraction to our enemies."

Hyde looked at her with confusion as he asked, "Why would you resurrect that one handed pirate's father? Does he have magic?"

She shook her head and then answered, "Not hardly. He's a weak minded fool and no more than a simple man. However, he has a strong motivation to want revenge on his son. You see, Hook killed him several years ago, not too long before I enacted the dark curse that cursed everyone here and created this town. They have a lot of issues. And when we spoke after I brought him back, Daddy dearest told me he was initially just disappointed by his son's choice to kill him, but that his disappointment only grew into anger and bitterness as time passed while he was trapped in his own personal hell in a dark corner of the Underworld; the closest place to Hell without actually being put there. Before we parted ways, I gave him a little help that will allow him to hurt the one handed wonder, or perhaps do something far worse."

"Which is why he will be the perfect distraction," the other villain responded in understanding. "While the Savior of this world and the others are busy trying to save him, we can both work on getting our own revenge. I like it."

"I knew that you would," the Evil Queen stated smugly and then laughed, as did her new partner. "Come on, Hyde. Let's go and find our new allies, then get to work."


	6. Chapter 6

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Six

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed as David stood from the booth where he, Snow, and Henry were sitting inside Granny's diner, while her mother held baby Neal within her arms, waiting for her to arrive. "Is everything all right? Your text sounded urgent."

"I'm not sure at the moment," she answered nervously as she walked over to them, then motioned to Brennan to have a seat in the chair that David pulled from one of the tables nearby for him. "But so far… No, not everything's all right. Wait, where's Regina?"

Her father took a seat next to Henry across from the women, then Henry responded, "She was on her way, but she spotted something strange coming from the direction of her vault. Mom went to go check it out. She'll be here soon. Zelena should be coming soon too. She was taking care of little Robin first though."

David kept his eyes trained on the stranger since the man walked in with his daughter and then finally spoke up asking, "Emma, who is this?"

"Uh… well he's why I've asked you guys down here in the middle of the night," she replied nervously while she looked between Brennan and her family.

"Here we are, a nice cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon for each of you," Granny interrupted before Emma could continue, while she came over to their table and carefully placed the drinks down before each of them, then as the older woman was about to set one down in front of the stranger, the baby accidently bumped her arm, causing her to drop the mug of cocoa into the man's lap, but when it fell, instead of burning him, it phased right through him as the mug shattered into pieces on the floor.

Everyone became startled by not only the crash, but upon seeing that the newcomer was no more than a ghost and stared at him in shock, until Emma nervously cleared her throat and then continued, "Yeah uh… As I was about to explain, this is Brennan Jones."

David quickly turned to his daughter as he asked with disbelief, "Jones? You mean to tell us that Hook has another brother?"

"No, not another brother," she answered and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "He's actually Killian's father.

"His father?" Snow stated as she also looked at her daughter with surprise. "You mean…"

Emma finished for her mother, "Yes, he is the man Regina was talking about on the night Killian saved us from the Dark Ones and yes, Hook killed him not long before Regina's curse."

Henry looked at Brennan cynically as he asked, "Okay, but what is he doing here?"

"What is who doing here?" Zelena questioned when she entered the diner from the back room while carrying her daughter in her arms, having missed the rest of the conversation. "I'm sorry I'm late. Robin's been a bit fussy tonight, for the last few nights actually. I suspect she misses her father. Where's Regina?"

"Mom will be here soon," Henry quickly responded without turning his gaze away from the stranger, who was obviously feeling very uncomfortable in a room full of people he knew didn't like him the moment it was announced that he was Hook's father.

Snow looked at the former Wicked Witch as she added, "This is Brennan Jones, a ghost and Hook's…"

David appeared to be suspicious of the stranger too, as he stared at him as Henry was doing and finished replying for his wife, "Hook's father."

"Wait, where is Killian?" Henry suddenly asked in concern when he finally turned away from the man and looked across the table at his mom. "Shouldn't he be here too? Doesn't he know about him?"

"He does, but… Killian's really having a hard time dealing with him being back," Emma answered despondently. "He needed some time alone."

Charming gave a sad sigh and then responded, "That's certainly understandable. Talk to us. How is he even here?"

The Savior nodded and began, "The truth is, we don't really know much more, other than that Brennan claims things down in the Underworld have changed since Hades disappeared and that he was able to just climb out instead of choosing to move on like many other souls that were down there. Arthur has been pretty helpful to them since he took up reign it seems."

"I don't buy it," Zelena replied sternly. "No matter how much things have changed down there, I don't believe it's possible for a soul to just climb out without any help from someone above. Otherwise, a lot more of them would be roaming around free."

"That's exactly what I said," Emma answered in agreement.

Snow quickly asked, "Yes, but the question is why? I mean, why would Gold want to bring Killian's father back from the Underworld? Surely there are a number of others he would have preferred to raise from the dead, or whatever it is he's up to."

It was then that Brennan finally talked as he responded, "Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, but it's as I told Miss. Swan here. I do not know who this Gold is and I don't know how I really came to be here either."

"But you do know something you're not saying," Emma replied brusquely as she looked into the man's eyes in order to get a better read on him. "I have a gift for telling when someone is bullshitting me, Mr. Jones. And I can tell that you are. What about? What aren't you telling us?"

"The fact that he didn't really become free of the Underworld on his own accord," Killian answered coldly as he suddenly appeared from the back entrance of the diner like Zelena had earlier and laid down a clump of grass and dirt on the table in front of his father, then took turns looking between everyone in the room while he continued on with his explanation. "I walked down to the pond after I left Emma on the beach and had a look around the portal. I found that there's been a small patch of the ground dug up. It took me a few minutes, but I finally realized that the area was where I fell after I died."

Emma understood then as she moved to stand beside Hook, took his hand in hers, and finished for him, "Killian's blood would have seeped into the ground and this dirt would be saturated with it, but it isn't. Someone with magic definitely brought his father here by summoning Charon, but it wasn't Gold. He wouldn't have needed to dig up the earth to somehow get Killian's blood, not when he could have used his own."

David reached out in attempt to grab hold of the man by the front of his shirt in hope of getting him to tell them the truth, until his hands phased through him as the mug of cocoa had earlier. The Prince had forgotten that Brennan was still only just a spirit, so instead he lowered his arms again, then pulled the chair out from under him to get the man to stand. How he was able to sit without his body phasing through the chair, none of them really understood.

All eyes were on him as Snow said calmly, "We all know now how you really arrived here. But we don't know who brought you here, other than that it couldn't possibly be Rumpelstiltskin."

"So who was it, Jones?" David asked again curtly after glancing quickly over at Hook with remorse.

"It could have been Hyde," Zelena responded after a minute when Brennan still refused to talk. "I mean, he isn't a magical being himself, but he is here in town somewhere and he's certainly got the means to be able to pull off something like this. We should talk to Dr. Jekyll."

Killian moved closer to his father so that he was standing directly in front of him as he replied in disagreement, "No, that monster didn't do this. Hyde couldn't care less of my father's existence, let alone that he would've had to retrieve him from the world of the dead. Please father, tell us who really is responsible for raising you."

Brennan shook his head and answered, "I'm afraid I can't do that, son. I swore that I wouldn't tell, but you will all find out soon enough. That much I can tell you. And I'm afraid that I wasn't truthful about one other thing, at least not in the sense that you took it to mean. When I told the woman you love that I only wanted to make things right, I meant that I wanted make you sorry for killing me all those years ago, which I had to suffer down in the Underworld."

All of a sudden, the man reached up to touch the side of Killian's head while Hook attempted to step away from him. But, before Emma or anyone else could do anything to stop his father, Killian began to scream as a bright light engulfed them both and caused everyone to cover their eyes, though Emma struggled to break free of David's grip on her to try to help the man she loved. After nearly a minute passed, the light finally faded, though everyone still had trouble seeing anything until their eyes became clear again.

"Killian!" she cried out for him upon finding Hook crouched down on the floor between them, his eyes squeezed shut while he held his hand tightly against his head as agony flooded his mind, then Emma immediately knelt down in front of him. "Killian, what is it? Oh God no, not again. Please look at me. What's wrong?"

"Where did his father disappear to?" Zelena asked as she and everyone else besides Hook and Emma began to look around, only to find that there was no sign of him.

However, just when Henry was about to talk again, Killian weakly raised himself from off the ground with Emma's help, then lowered his hand and opened his eyes as he responded cruelly, "I'm right here, witch."

David cautiously stepped closer to his friend in order to get a better look at him as he asked worryingly, "Hook? Are you…?"

"My son is no longer doing the talking here, Your Majesty," Hook replied, only everyone realized now that it was really his father who replied in Killian's own voice, from within his body. "Only I am."

"What the hell have you done?" Emma asked dreadfully, trying to look at the man she loved with something other than fear and remorse, as Killian was the only person she could see even if it was really Brennan saying the words coming out of his mouth.

Killian's father smiled and turned his eyes downward as he began to stare at his hand upon feeling the sensations of being alive again, continued to look over the rest of his son's body until his sight finally became caught on the hook worn over his left arm, then he answered strangely, "I did what I had to do in order to regain the life that my son stole from me. But try not to worry, Swan. Killian is still alive. He's simply trapped within the back of his mind, unable to do anything to help himself as he is forced to watch everything that happens from here on out as a slient observer."

Emma became infuriated when the man used Killian's special name for her, and even more while he continued to speak so callously toward what he had just done, as the softness in her eyes changed to anger, then she responded, "No! I won't let you do this. I warned you I would stop you if you tried to hurt Killian. I won't let you kill him. I won't let him die again."

"Neither will we," David added sternly as he stepped in front of him to block his way when Brennan tried to leave, while Henry did the same. "Let Hook go, now!"

"I can't," the new villain replied smugly. "It's as I said, my son won't die. I didn't blame Killian for being angry with me for what I had done to him. I understand that selling him and his brother into servitude is the cruelest thing a father can do to his children. But I was disappointed Killian couldn't let go of his anger toward a monster far worse than myself, at least enough to spare my life. Especially when I had another son only thirteen years of age lying only a few feet away. I bet he didn't tell you that, did he?"

Emma closed her eyes for a few seconds in frustration and then looked back at him again as she answered, "No, he didn't. But he would have. We were just beginning to talk about his past. I know a lot about your son, certainly enough to know that he's a man who deserves my love, but he lived for centuries before we met. It'll take a lot of conversations for him to be able to tell me everything."

Brennan scoffed and then responded, "Go on and make as many excuses for him as you like, Emma. But the truth is, he forced me to abandon my son I had with my second wife when he killed me. She made me see the error of my ways and changed me into a better man, so I named him Liam, after my oldest son as a way to honor him and Killian both. And so that I would remember never to make the same mistake with my youngest that I had with my other sons. I failed to keep that promise I made to myself because of Killian. I had years… decades within a deep, dark corner of the Underworld to think on my actions as well as his. And my disappointment turned into anger and hate as I was tormented by the vilest of souls lucky not to have been tossed down into Tartarus by Hades the moment they died. That was my punishment for what I had done. However, there is nothing worse than not knowing what happened to my Liam."

"If you just asked, Killian would have told you what happened to him," Henry spoke up despondently over the possibility of losing the man he was beginning to see as his second father all over again. "He always believed in good form and that meant that even when he was Captain Hook, he never would have harmed a child. Hell, he risked his life to help my family save mine after I was taken to Neverland as Pan's hostage, when Killian had no reason to help us, except that he simply longed to be a part of something good, longed for a family that you never gave him."

"That's right, kid," the Savior replied proudly as she laid her hand down on her own son's shoulder, then looked over at Brennan again.

The oldest Jones scoffed and then answered, "You may be right, but I still have my reasons for doing what I'm going to do now."

Snow stood up from the booth as she moved to stand beside Granny and asked, "And what is that? The only place you're going is inside our jail until we can figure out how to save Killian. My husband and daughter are this town's sheriffs."

"I don't think so, madam," Brennan retorted coldly. "You see, I can read my son's thoughts and I can see that there is a possibility that Liam is still alive within the Enchanted Forest. I'm going to go find him, then once I discover the truth about what happened to him, if he still lives, I will take him to Neverland and use Killian's knowledge of that land so that we can live for however long I wish for us to. We will disappear and you will never see my son again."

"No, you won't," David responded more forcefully than he had before. "You need a magic bean or a portal to get there from here. And both are very hard to come by."

The man smiled as he turned to the Prince and replied, "Maybe the magic bean is, but the former Wicked Witch over here, or the former Evil Queen who's also changed her ways, both of them have the ability to wield something my son calls, the Apprentice's wand. With it they can create a portal for me."

Zelena laughed contemptuously and then asked, "And why would I ever help the likes of you? I'm not exactly a fan of the pirate's, but he is one of the good guys and my sister considers him a friend. I don't think so."

"I thought you'd say that," Hook's father answered calmly. "But eventually one of you will help me get to where I want to go. I won't risk getting the two of us killed again, but I can hurt him. And I will if I have to. The choice is yours, Miss. Swan."

"How can you do this?" Emma asked sadly as she glared at the face of the man she loved, but finally saw only the villain talking through him. "How can you do this to your own son?"

Brennan shouted back angrily, "You mean like how he could kill his own father? He deserves to suffer as I did. Killian wanted revenge on the man whom he calls a Crocodile so badly, this is the price he gets to pay, for all the lives he's ruined."

All of a sudden, he swiftly slashed Killian's hook deeply across David's chest, causing him to gasp in pain, and shoved him against Henry while his daughter and wife shouted his name, then Brennan fled from the diner before Emma, Zelena, or anyone else could do anything to stop him. Emma started to go after him, but hesitated and then turned back around as she immediately rushed to her father's side to heal him.

When she finished, David looked up into her eyes as he stated weakly, "Gah… Don't worry, Emma. We'll find him. We'll stop him from leaving and we will find a way to save Hook from that monster."

"How could I have let this happen?" the Savior asked miserably. "How could I have been so careless not to see how much of a threat he was?"

"Because he is Killian's father," Snow responded with worry as she laid her hand on her daughter's cheek to try to comfort her a little.

Emma shook her head in disdain as she began to cry and then replied, "Yeah, and I knew he was lying about something. I just didn't realize he was lying about everything he told me. But I should have. I never should have allowed him to get close to Killian. This is all my fault and now I might lose him, again."

David stood with his wife's help and leaned down to help Emma stand up as well, then he answered confidently, "You won't, Emma. Not ever again."

"David's right," Snow responded in agreement. "You share true love and nothing can defeat true love. You two, and your father and I, we're proof of that."

"I want to believe you, but until he's safe and that bastard is dead for good, I'm having a hard time believing you right now," she replied angrily.

It was then that Granny spoke up again after she had kept quiet during the whole ordeal saying, "There's one thing we ought to find out somehow and that's how exactly does a ghost have the ability to do… well whatever the hell he just did to Hook."

Emma thought for a moment and then answered, "You're right. Whoever helped Brennan escape the Underworld, had to have given him some kind of magic to pull this off. We need to find out who exactly started all of this. It might give us the answers we need to the rest of our questions."

"Henry, what's the matter?" Emma asked again as she looked over at the teenager and noticed the worry on his face as he was staring at his phone in his hands.

"It's Mom," he stated with concern. "She should have been here some time ago, but she hasn't answered any of my texts I've sent her."

Zelena nodded in agreement and responded, "He's right. She should have been here by now. What on earth is keeping her?"

Emma gave a heavy sigh again, then replied, "It looks like we're going to have to split up. Dad, you and me will go to try to find Killian. Henry, you go with Mom and Zelena to go find Regina. Call us if you find anything and be careful. Please protect them, Zelena. God knows what trouble we'll run into next."


	7. Chapter 7

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Seven

Regina awoke groggily, then struggled to sit up while she cautiously looked around the darkened room she found herself in and when the haze disappeared, she discovered that she was inside her own vault, but realized that she didn't remember how it was she had gotten there. She slowly stood up from the crypt she was lying on, then swiftly flicked her hand as her magic opened up the staircase that led deeper into the vault and walked down, but when she finally descended, to her surprise, she found someone already inside.

What was worse, Regina recognized the dress the intruder was wearing to be one of her own as she called out angrily, "Hey, who the hell are you? And how dare you wear one of my gowns! How did you even get down here?"

The woman kept her back to the owner of the vault while she responded calmly, "Blood magic only keeps out anyone who isn't related to you, Madam Mayor. Which, in a manner of speaking I am."

"You're related to me?" Regina stated with disbelief and slowly started to move closer to her as she ignited a fireball within her hand to defend herself. "That's not possible. My mother certainly would have told me if I had another sister."

"Oh no, I'm not your sister… or your mother, your cousin, or of any other kind of usual relation," the woman answered smugly when she finally turned around and caused Regina to freeze in horror upon seeing her own face staring back at her, though not through a reflection within a mirror. "Are you really that surprised?"

Regina shook her head and took a few steps back as she snuffed out the flame, then glared at her other self while she replied fearfully, "It's not possible. I crushed your heart. I killed you back in New York. How can you still be alive and here in Storybrooke?"

The Evil Queen smiled at her and then responded, "You saw exactly what I wanted you to see. How I did it is a long story, which frankly I'm not really in the mood to share again. It's a bit of a boring story really. But as for how I'm here… Come on, do you really have to ask me that? I'm you, Regina. It was our curse that created this town and it's our magic that can break through our own protection spell. I did have some help from a gentleman in Chinatown who calls himself the Dragon. He helped speed things up. I would have gotten through without him if I had the patience. I believe you know him too. Currently, he's here as well and he's helping me now. Though, not of his own volition."

"You've stolen his heart," Regina said in understanding. "Like I believed I stole yours. I watched you die. I felt relief as your body turned to ash just like your heart did in my hand."

"Since when does that happen when one's heart is destroyed?" the dark side of the Queen asked curtly. "Come on, Regina. Think! When you crushed Graham's heart, his body remained behind for the other heroes to bury. After all, you were still me at the time and it didn't bother you that you had just killed your ex-lover. And when you ripped out Prince Charming's heart, then gave it to Snow White to crush, his body remained behind and you were able split her heart in half so that you two could revive him. But never have the bodies of any of your victims turned to ash like mine did. It was all a show so that I could bide my time before I could back and take my revenge on you, for keeping me dormant once you began to be like the rest of these awful heroes here in this crummy town. I knew what you wanted before you did it and tricking you was really too easy, it's pathetic. You were always better and stronger when you allowed me to step in and play. Now you're just weak."

Regina lowered her head in frustration, then raised it again a few moments later to look at the Evil Queen and questioned, "How did you even lure me here? Did it have something to do with that strange light I saw in the sky above my vault? I don't even remember…"

She smiled again, then answered, "Remember walking inside, our vault you mean? Yes, I fired off a few flares of my own design above this place, knowing that they would get your attention no matter where you happened to be at the time. Worked like a charm. Then, I had my first associate of this town knock you out while your eyes were too busy staring up at the sky. Tsk… tsk… You really should have been paying more attention to the rest of your surroundings as well."

"Let me guess… Mr. Hyde?" the good woman spoke coolly. "Zelena told me about his weapon of choice, high voltage electricity; a taser gun in the form of club. She also said that Hyde has the ability to absorb the magic anyone throws at him, but I'm sure that we'll be able to come up with something to take him down fairly easily. He's hardly worth the trouble."

"Perhaps not," the Queen replied in agreement. "However, I am a huge threat to this town, especially to you, Regina. You've been so desperate to rid yourself of me, even though I was hidden away."

Regina snarled angrily, "If you know me so well, then you know that you were never just hidden away. You were my conscience, my strongest instincts. I fought every second of every day to keep you at bay and it was tearing me apart, especially after…"

Her other half interrupted saying cruelly, "After Robin died? That thief might have made you stronger, but it was also because of him that brought us to this. You allowed yourself to become so dependent on him, dependent on him always being there to help you keep me away, so that when he died… you felt like you were being torn apart and you blamed me. However, I felt your yearning to want to kill that wretched pirate the moment Hook walked into Granny's diner after he was raised from the dead. Don't deny it, you wanted to rip his throat out. Yet you still pushed me down and went on as Regina the good. Your agony continued to grow until opportunity knocked and you snatched at the chance to be rid of me once and for all. Only you failed, again. And here we are. So really, Robin Hood is to blame for the misery that your about to face. Him, and you too of course."

"Don't you dare blame any of this on him!" Regina responded angrily as tears came to her eyes and immediately threw fireball at the Evil Queen, but unfortunately she was able to block it fairly easily, then fought back with her own attack.

Without hesitation, the Queen suddenly waved her arms as her magic shrouded her enemy in black smoke, then whisked the cloud over her head and straight into the magic mirror hanging on the wall behind her, trapping Regina inside. The evil woman walked up to the mirror as she looked into the reflection and laughed when her counterpart's image appeared, then immediately began to bang against its glass in attempt to break free even though Regina knew that her efforts would be of no use.

"No!" she cried out. "Let me out of here! Whatever you're planning, you won't succeed."

The evil part of her immediately transformed her own look, ridding herself of her elegant gown to replace it with one of Regina's sensible pantsuits, changed her hairstyle to match her opposition's, then took in her appearance again as she chortled and asked smugly, "How do I look? Or should I say, how do you look?"

Regina glared at her as she answered coldly, "If you think that you can be me, then you've already lost. Emma will know something's off the moment you open your mouth."

"Sorry," her other self replied, while she began to gather a few items from the collection of potions and extra magic sources lying out around her, then finally picked up Regina's cell phone to check on the messages and missed calls. "I'm afraid your Savior is a little busy trying to save Hook again from the trouble I caused for him, as are her parents and probably the rest of the heroes around here are by now. Although, Henry's actually looking for you, along with Snow and your sister, but don't worry. They won't be missing you for much longer. They'll find me and I'll make up a good excuse for not answering these messages. I'm not too worried about Emma Swan right now and I certainly don't plan to keep up this charade for very long. I have plans for Storybrooke and your friends."

"If you hurt Henry…!" Regina started to respond until she was cut off.

The Evil Queen answered, "Relax. He's my son too. As much as I hate to admit it, a small part of me does care for the kid despite me being your evil twin. I won't hurt him, but if he tries to get in my way, I'll bring you a companion so that you won't be so lonely."

Regina pleaded, "Don't do this. What do you really want?"

"It's as I said, Regina," she replied curtly. "I want revenge. And leaving you here to watch helplessly as I destroy your friends one by one, is the perfect way to do it."

"You really should have checked to make sure that the black heart you crushed was real when you tried to kill me, Your Majesty!" the Queen called out again behind her as she ascended the staircase to leave the vault. "I'm the only one who can release you from the mirror, so enjoy your new accommodations. Sydney always did!"


	8. Chapter 8

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Eight

When they left Granny's, the first place Henry, Snow, and Zelena headed in search of Regina was at her vault, as it was the last place Henry knew his second mom was going before they separated. The babies were left with Granny, who was happy to keep watch over them both while the heroes all went off in separate directions to save their loved ones. By the time they reached the mayor's private sanctuary, they arrived just as Regina walked out from inside.

Henry raced to her side, having no idea that she was really the Evil Queen, and upon seeing a large gash across her forehead, he asked worryingly, "Mom, are you okay? What happened?"

She put her hand to her head and replied angrily, "It was Hyde! He somehow managed to break into the vault. I'm guessing that because he has the ability to absorb magic, he was probably able to somehow bend the field around himself to slip in, like light can enter through a wall of glass."

"Why would Hyde want to break into your vault?" Zelena asked with confusion as she walked up to the door and looked inside, then turned back to her sister. "I mean, it may be filled with magic and potions, but I would think he's got plenty of that on his own side."

"Zelena's right," Snow responded in agreement as she stepped forward and took a closer look at the small cut, then pulled her hand away quickly as Regina cringed at her touch. "Sorry. You're lucky, it doesn't look too bad. You must have startled him when you entered and then got a lucky hit in before you could blast him into oblivion. Although, your instincts are usually much better than that."

The Queen glared at the woman who was the initial cause of all her pain, but fought to keep her impulse to kill her right there inside, as Henry spoke up again saying, "Mom's instincts are probably a little bit off since she split herself from her evil side. Don't worry, Mom. You'll be back to yourself in no time. In fact, you'll be better than ever because you are now one hundred percent the good woman I always knew you were."

The former Wicked Witch continued, "You know, I'm surprised he didn't take this opportunity to kill you, as you're one of his biggest threats."

"Zelena!" Snow exclaimed in surprise. "How can you say that, especially so callously?"

"What?" the red headed woman answered curtly. "I mean, I'm certainly glad that my sister's fine. I'm just saying he had a chance to turn the tables and he failed to take it. If I were still my old self…"

Regina smiled as she raised her own hand to her head to heal the wound and then replied, "It's okay, I get it. I'm guessing he was probably just in a hurry. I came up here to see if he was still around so that I could pay him back, but… Well, as you can see he's already gone. I must have blacked out for a few seconds, or minutes rather. I'm going to go back down inside, to check to see what he might have stolen."

Henry quickly retorted, "Wait! We could really use your help. Killian's in big trouble. His father has somehow taken possession of him, then he took off after he hurt Grandpa in order to get away."

"That's not… Hook's father?" the Queen responded in contrived disbelief and with insincere concern for the pirate who was her counterpart's friend, not her own. "How can that be? His father is long dead. I hate to say it, but I had Hook do it himself and I saw him do it, through my mirror. I had to keep my eyes on him in order to make sure he didn't try to pull one over on me. I'm not proud of it now, but I knew I could feed on Hook's lust for revenge on Rumpelstiltskin in order to get him to do whatever I wanted. And I wanted to see how far I could push him. I'm sad to say that it didn't take nearly as much effort as I thought it would. He almost backed out, but his anger got the better of him as I knew it would."

"It's all right, Regina," Snow answered with sincerity. "That was a long time ago and the woman who did that, isn't you. But, someone here with magic found a way to raise Brennan Jones from the Underworld and his ghost took over Hook's body. We need your help to find him and figure out how to get him out, to save Killian."

Henry added, "The strange thing is, he didn't do to Killian, as Nimue and the rest of the Dark Ones did to us so that they could live again. I mean, they didn't possess us. They marked us with the mark of Charon by passing through us and then transported us to the portal. How can a dead soul take control over a living soul? Hades may be gone now, but Brennan shouldn't have been able to do that to Hook. Nothing I've read from the Sorcerer's book at the mansion on the Underworld says that a dead soul has that kind of power. This isn't some kind of horror movie."

Snow replied, "This must be the doing of whoever raised that man from the dead. Come on, now that we know Regina's safe, we should all go find Emma and David. Maybe they've had luck like we have."

"As I said, you three go on ahead," the evil woman in disguise responded sternly. "First I need to make sure nothing's missing. But I'll catch up to you."

"I'll come with you," Snow stated skeptically, sensing something was off with her friend, whom she's known for a lot longer than anyone else has, though she wasn't sure what was bothering her about the woman. "Henry, go find Emma and David. Let them know we found Regina and that she's alright. We'll be right behind you."

They both nodded, then Zelena immediately poofed them both away within a cloud of green to do as Snow had suggested, then the Princess walked on ahead of Regina back down into the vault as the Queen asked, "Is there something wrong, Snow? You seem, a bit… uneasy."

The younger woman shook her head and answered, "No, no. I'm fine. I'm just worried about Emma, and Killian too of course. So, where do we even begin? I'm not sure of what help I can really be here."

"Then why did you stay?" she asked again curtly. "Surely you're of better help to the others."

"I thought you could use a little company is all," Snow replied truthfully. "Nothing appears to be any different than it was the last time I was down here and that was the day we got back from New York. Did you make any changes since then?"

The imposter shook her head and turned to the hero, who had her eyes on one of the books lying open on the table before her, as she put her arm around her back to create a spark of power in the palm of her hand, but as she was about to attack Snow to knock her out, the real Regina shouted a warning from the mirror behind Snow crying out, "Snow, look out!"

The Evil Queen immediately fired her dark magic, but before it could strike Snow down, the good woman was suddenly able to deflect it and forced it back at the villain with something concealed within the palm of her hand. The force of the power knocked the Queen back hard against the wall, but it wasn't enough to knock her out, allowing for her to disappear swiftly within a cloud of black, rather than in the purple smoke that Regina's magic now was since she became a hero.

After the villain fled, Snow spun around and ran over to the magic mirror as Regina's image appeared before her, then the Princess asked worryingly, "God Regina, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but how… How did you do that?" her friend responded as she stared at Snow with surprise. "I thought for sure she was going to have you join me in here."

"I just knew I sensed something was off with her," she answered nervously as she looked at Regina and raised the compact mirror still within her hand and showed it to the Queen. "It's a good thing I carry this with me everywhere I go. It was a gift, from you actually. I didn't know she was going to attack me, but… I figured taking my own mirror from my pocket as we came down here couldn't hurt. What happened? And who was that really?"

Regina replied angrily, "It was me. The Evil Queen survived and she's angry. It's a long story and I'll explain everything, but first you need to go get the others, especially Emma and Zelena. The other me claimed that she was the only one who could get me out of here. However, I think the Savior's magic and my sister's combined might be enough."

As Snow quickly sent off a text to her daughter and the former Wicked Witch of the West, the good Queen continued, "Her plan to impersonate me failed thanks to you. She'll go back to wherever she and Hyde are hiding and continue with the rest of her plan to take over Storybrooke and to destroy us all, but I don't know beyond that."

"She's already started," the Princess responded nervously. "Killian's in trouble, again."

"I know," Regina answered sadly. "I know how this mirror works, I created it. I watched the conversation between you four before you came down here. If you can get me out, we can save Hook and work on a way to defeat her together. And this time, we can't fail."


	9. Chapter 9

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Nine

When the Evil Queen arrived back within the safety of the cloak surrounding each of the camps belonging to the new arrivals from the new land of untold stories, she stormed inside Gold's cabin where she found Hyde sitting down in a chair by his workstation having a conversation with a man leaning against a wall in the far corner of the room; none other than Brennan Jones, now inside Captain Hook's body just as Henry had said he was. Both men stopped talking when she entered as Hyde stood, while Brennan remained right where he was and kept his eyes trained on the villains before him.

Hyde spoke first as he looked at the woman in charge as he said, "Your Majesty, you're back sooner than expected. I take it things didn't go as well as you hoped."

She glared at the villain and answered, "If things had, I would still be out there among them right now, wouldn't I? I've underestimated Snow White time and time again. I don't why I keep thinking I can put anything past her, although how she knew I wasn't miss goody two shoes so soon is beyond me."

"Miss. Swan's instincts come from her mother," Brennan replied quietly. "Emma's are stronger as she's the Savior, but her mother's have always been strong. I can still feel my son inside of his body, tearing at me to get out. It's a strange sensation."

"I can imagine," the Queen responded as she turned to the man she could only see as the pirate she's hated since he first betrayed her when he chose to work for Cora all those years ago before he and her mother ever came to Storybrooke. "You must have all of his thoughts and memories. You know, everything that he knows?"

Brennan nodded as the woman walked closer to stand before him, then answered, "It appears so. I'll help you to defeat his loved ones, so long as you continue to help me get back to my son and make this transformation permanent."

She smiled smugly and replied, "That all depends on you, but I can give you something that will help. I take it that you had no trouble then?"

"This Snow White you speak of, the Savior's mother… She isn't the only one of these heroes whose instincts are strong," Brennan responded as he walked over to have a seat in the chair beside the other man, who was sitting down again, as was the Queen at this point. "Every one of them knew that I was lying the moment I revealed myself to them, including my son. You warned me of the Savior's gift, so I was careful with what I said, but she was protective of Killian and it wasn't long before she brought me before her family and friends to be interrogated about my intentions. I had to act fast, but the incantation you gave me to enter my son's body worked just as you said it would."

"After he fled from our enemies, he met up with me at the rendezvous spot per your orders," Hyde added. "I must say, it's unnerving to see one of your associates staring back at us through the eyes of an enemy I nearly strangled to death when we first met. As I look at him, I want to finish killing him like I began to do then."

Brennan appeared to think for a moment and then answered, "He has that effect on people. Now, what about that help you promised me?"

The woman stood as Brennan followed suit, then moved directly in front of the man in Hook's body, pressed her hand firmly against his chest just over his heart, and replied coolly, "I warn you, this will hurt. But at least it will hurt your son even worse."

Without another word or hesitation, the Evil Queen smiled as she began to burn a mark into Killian's skin beneath the palm of her hand, causing the man to scream like he had done before in the diner only in much more agony, and collapsed to his knees while she continued on for almost a minute, until she finally released him, then Brennan fell all the way back against the floor, panting as he struggled to catch his breath again. From across the room, Hyde watched in fascination while he remained silent.

"What have you done to me?" Brennan asked weakly as he slowly raised himself up and then stood again before the woman. "I've never felt anything like that before and I was tortured by fire, a lash, as well as anything else you can imagine while down in the Underworld.

"You thought that was bad, I can promise that the pain for Hook was much worse," she responded. "You wanted to make sure that your son wouldn't be able to push you out, or that the woman who loves him and the rest of the heroes can't pull you out, so I've burned a binding link into his skin and locked you inside."

Mr. Hyde looked at the woman as he spoke up saying, "I've studied all magic, both dark and light. I've never once heard of this, binding link to lock souls inside another body."

She looked over at the scientist as she answered, "That's because this kind of power is a very rare form of dark magic and is something that's not very common for magical beings to perform. Because as you would think, it's extremely dangerous and because there's never a soul available to do it with. I've only even heard of it being done by one other person and that was the Dark One before Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin taught me a lot, including magic that there was never any use for."

"So what's next?" Brennan asked sternly. "When can I leave this place and go find my son?"

"First of all, you still need to find a way to steal the Apprentice's wand away from my sister," the Queen replied as she walked outside and slowly began to walk along the camps, tents, and other shelters throughout the woods, while Brennan and Hyde followed close behind. "If you want to do that, we're going to need help and not just from the Dragon, who should be around here somewhere."

The scientist corrected her as he responded, "Actually, I have the wand. Jekyll volunteered to fix it for them, then I stole it from him."

When they came upon a small clearing past the last set up camp where they could talk without interference from anyone else from Hyde's world and walked forward, five other strangers, as well as the Dragon, stepped inside the opening, then cautiously made their way toward the woman they knew to be the Evil Queen and Hyde, whom they didn't trust.

Hyde introduced them as he proclaimed, "While you were gone, Your Majesty, I gathered together our best allies. Meet some friends of mine, some of whom you might have heard of; the Sorcerer Jafar, Dorian Gray, Milady de Winter, Professor James Moriarty, and Lady Macbeth."


	10. Chapter 10

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Ten

Meanwhile…

After splitting up from the others as they all left Granny's, Emma immediately used her powers to transport herself and David to the first place she thought of in order to begin their search for Killian, hoping that Killian's own instincts would be powerful enough to lead Brennan to a place of familiarity, even if that familiarity wasn't his own; onboard the Jolly Roger.

"Killian!" she shouted as she swiftly ran across the deck of the ship and down into Captain's quarters, only finding it to be empty, causing her heart to sink with grief upon him not being there. "No. Killian…"

"I'm so sorry, Emma," David said quietly with regret as he walked in the room seconds after she had, seeing the despair on his daughter's face.

She shook her head and responded curtly, "Don't. We've just started looking. He could be anywhere."

Her father finally reached out to grab her arm to get her to stop moving as she left Hook's quarters and started to search other areas of his ship, then he replied, "I mean, I'm sorry about what's happened. I can only imagine how angry you must be feeling, and how desperate you are to find him so that we can save Hook. To have been resurrected just days ago after all he suffered through, only to have his life ripped away from him again…"

"We're going to get him back," Emma answered angrily as she looked miserably into his eyes, while he looked into hers. "I don't care what I have to do, but I'll be damned if I let his father get away with this. You don't know what he did to Killian."

"At the diner, Brennan said something about how he sold Hook and his brother," the Prince responded sadly as they walked back out onto the deck after looking within the rest of the rooms below, including the brig. "Did Hook ever tell you the rest of the story?"

Emma closed her eyes while she thought for a few moments, then looked out over the ocean toward the horizon as Killian had taught her to do to help calm herself whenever she became stressed, and replied quietly, "He didn't really go much into the things that happened between him and his father, other than that the bastard sold him into servitude to another pirate by the name of Captain Silver when he was barely Henry's age after Hook first arrived here in Storybrooke."

David asked again, "Did he say why?"

"No," she answered with a sigh. "We were talking about the scars… lash marks I noticed on his back after he awoke from another nightmare. He's been dreaming about Hades and his time in the Underworld. For the first few nights, Killian slept here in case the nightmares he expected would come came, in hope that they would go away quickly. He didn't want to worry me, but the nightmares kept coming, even with me lying beside him. Anyway, the lashes were caused by Silver and the man's crew back when Killian was the man's slave. The pirates used to beat and torment him for just trying to stay alive, despite Liam's efforts to protect him. Killian says that he didn't have his brother's discipline for hard work or to keep from letting his anger get the better of him, but…"

"Brennan and the pirate he sold his sons to are to blame for what led up to Hook killing his father," the Savior's father responded sadly in understanding. "It's no wonder why he became, well became the Captain Hook from all the stories."

Emma scoffed and replied, "Yeah, if only J.M. Barrie knew the real story. If he had, he wouldn't have made Pan such a bloody hero, or Hook such a villain without a past to explain why he became who he was."

David couldn't help, but laugh at her use of the term, 'bloody' and then spoke up again saying, "He's certainly begun to rub off on you."

"Killian once told me he always knew there was a little pirate in me somewhere," his daughter answered sadly, though she smiled at the memory of them being trapped together in her parents' past as she knocked Marian unconscious after the woman refused to cooperate with them, then heard his laugh in her head. "Come on, we should keep moving. Brennan's never been here in Storybrooke before so he must be depending on Killian's memories to help him find someplace to hide."

"Well, where else would he go?" he asked in frustration.

Before she could continue, a cloud of green smoke suddenly appeared behind them as Zelena poofed herself and Henry onboard, then upon finding his mom and grandpa there, the teenager looked at Emma as he stated quickly, "I thought you'd come here first. I take it he wasn't here?"

The Savior shook her head as she responded, "No, kid. What about Regina? Did you find her?"

"Yeah Mom's fine," Henry replied in relief. "Hyde was the one who drew her down to her vault with the strange lights in the sky, then struck her over her head with something as she entered inside and caught him by surprise. She tried to go after him, but she thinks she must have blacked out for a few minutes because when she made it back outside, he was gone. That was when we arrived."

"Snow stayed behind with her so that she could help Regina check to see if Hyde was able to steal anything before she arrived," Zelena continued. "She asked us to come find you both to let you know and then help you search for the missing pirate."

Emma nodded and then answered, "Well, he might have headed to either Gold's shop or maybe even the mansion. Brennan would know he can probably find something at either place to help protect himself from us because Killian knows the kind of magic within this town. We should split up again."

As everyone began to leave the ship, Zelena stopped walking upon receiving a text from Snow, then read the message on her phone as she quickly called out, "Wait! Snow needs us to get back to the vault right away. She says my sister's trapped inside her mirror and needs me and Emma to see if our magic is powerful enough combined to get her out."

"How the hell did that happen?" the Savior asked curtly.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," the former witch responded sternly as she placed her hand down on Henry's shoulder again. "I've got the boy. I guess you've got your father, Miss. Swan. Don't doddle."

Within seconds, the four of them appeared within two clouds of smoke inside the Queen's vault and found Snow standing near the magic mirror on the wall while she was reading one of Regina's books. Regina's image reflected from inside and both women couldn't help, but let off a sigh of relief when the others arrived.

David immediately rushed to his wife's side as he asked worryingly, "Snow, are you alright?"

She quickly replied, "I'm fine, David. But Regina…"

"What happened?" Zelena asked as she moved to stand in front of the mirror and looked at her sister with concern. "You were fine when we left and Hyde doesn't have magic. He couldn't have done this to you, even if he did come back for whatever it was he was after."

"Hyde was never here, at least not alone," Regina answered angrily. "It was the Evil Queen."

Emma came over to stand with the red headed woman and looked at her friend in confusion as she responded, "I don't understand. You don't mean…?"

Regina nodded and replied, "Unfortunately I do. It turns out that she didn't die like we thought she did. My evil twin somehow faked her death and she's here in town. Get me out of here and we can talk more about it in a minute."

The Savior and the former Wicked Witch looked between each other momentarily as they raised their hands, then both women released their magic into the mirror in effort to undo the Evil Queen's magic. Nearly two minutes passed before their magic seemed to work when all of a sudden, the glass of the mirror shattered and a large cloud of purple smoke poured out, then disappeared nearly as quickly as it appeared while Regina landed on her feet before them free and clear.

"You did it!" Snow exclaimed happily. "I knew you could."

"Yes, they did it," Regina answered curtly as she snatched the book from Snow's hands and then slammed it down in frustration. "Sorry. Thank you for getting me out of there, but we have to worry about my other self before we do any celebrating. There's a lot at stake right now, including Emma's boyfriend. Let's get out of here."


	11. Chapter 11

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Eleven

The Queen skeptically looked around at the strange group of villains now surrounding her, Hyde, and the Dragon, who also stepped forward to stand beside the woman that had complete control of his heart. And when the pirate had first stepped up behind the others, the Dragon immediately felt a pang of guilt for the man he recognized as a hero, as he sensed two minds and souls within his body. Though their circumstances were different, they were also very similar as neither one of them had control over each other's actions.

The evil woman in charge turned her head to the man who gathered their newest allies together and glared at him as she stated coldly, "These are the best you could find?"

Mr. Hyde sighed in frustration and then replied, "I assure you, Your Majesty, there is more to them than they appear. If you will allow us… we can explain why they've been chosen above the rest. There are other villains among us, but the five of them here each have a particular set of skills of more use to help us fight against the heroes.

"Very well," she answered. "But I better not be disappointed. You won't like the consequences if I am. Do you understand me?"

"Yes of course, Your Highness," the scientist responded smugly and then turned to the man whom he had introduced to her before as a powerful sorcerer. "This man calls himself Jafar and is from a land far from here, though has only recently found himself among the rest of us."

Jafar ignited a ball of white light within the palm of his hand and fired it directly into the center of a large tree in the distance as the burst blasted it in two, right beneath where the branches split off from the trunk, causing everyone else to duck down in a brief moment of fear while the man with the power simply chortled.

Before they were all standing upright again, the villain laughed and then spoke up within a heavy Arabian accent saying, "The rumors of who I am have been exaggerated and distorted far too greatly, Hyde. As was word of my death."

Regina's counterpart smiled and replied, "Please, do enlighten us."

"Yes of course, Your Highness," the man answered calmly. "To begin with, I am no sorcerer. At least not any longer I'm not. I was once, until I was tricked by my enemies as I became a genie and forced to become a slave, then imprisoned within the lamp that became my dungeon. However, my lamp was soon stolen by a thief and then again twice more until I found myself within the world of mystery that the rest of us have been found in."

"As I recall, a genie might have all the power in the cosmos, but he or she must also have a master," the Dragon responded as he looked at the man sternly.

Jafar nodded and then looked over at one of the women standing among them as he replied, "Indeed we do. I may be forced to remain with her while she still holds possession of my lamp and has kept it well hidden, but as she has already used her three wishes, I am once again in charge of my own will. However, I choose to use my power for her, as we have come to an understanding."

Brennan turned to the woman whom the genie motioned to, seeming to have become smitten by the dark haired beauty, as he asked curiously, "And who are you?"

She smiled with poise and slowly walked over to stand in front of the handsome stranger as she answered, "In the time and in the world where I come from, the people call me Milady de Winter. I once worked as an assassin for the Cardinal of France until I was captured by a group of the King's finest soldiers, the Musketeers, then sentenced to death. On the day of my beheading, a powerful storm swept through Paris and carried a number of people to the Land of Untold Stories within this period of time several years ago. What kind of storm it was, I do not know. Then, one day I was hired by the one-time King of the land to find and steal what turned out to be Jafar's lamp and my life was forever changed. I was never told how the lamp wound up there and I never asked. But when I discovered its power, I kept it for myself."

"And you made your three wishes?" the Evil Queen questioned, seeming to be unimpressed.

"I do not deny I am a vain woman," Milady responded smugly and turned back to Brennan once again as she gently began to caress his face, her fingers tracing the scar along his right cheek, not knowing that the villain she seemed to be attracted to was not speaking from within his own body. "My first wish was for everlasting beauty."

"Your beauty is without question," Brennan said with admiration, having become captivated by her splendor as she looked into his eyes and then leaned in to kiss him deeply for several moments.

Hyde stepped forward and pulled the pirate away from her, then asked coldly, "And your other two wishes?"

The assassin smiled as she replied, "To never again become a prisoner to anyone and immortal life. I had no need to ask for greater skills as an assassin, as I was always the best. If you need someone killed, I can do the deed without fail. For a price of course."

"Perhaps you may be of more use to me than I initially believed you to be," the Queen answered, fascinated by the woman's confidence and lack of morality. "Who's next?"

"You can call me simply, Moriarty," the man whom Hyde had introduced earlier as a professor responded, though a professor of what no one knew.

The assassin looked at him as she replied, "Ah yes, the professor. And what is it you bring to the table, Sir?"

He smiled and then answered, "I bring to the table, my mind and ability to always be seven steps ahead of my enemies. I am a genius and what people might call, a high functioning sociopath. I faked my death, the same as my greatest nemesis, then wandered to every corner of my world until I found myself within another, as I have come to do once again. I am a mastermind without equal."

"Except that this nemesis of yours has thwarted you on more than one occasion," another of the villains spoke up eerily as she remained where she stood wearing a large cloak draped around her, keeping her face hidden beneath its hood. "Therefore, you are not always seven steps ahead of your enemies as you believe. I know who each of you are. I know of your pasts, your presents, as well as your futures."

"And how do you know this?" Brennan asked when he spoke again nervously while everyone turned to stare at the second woman who entered the clearing along with Milady.

When she didn't appear to be willing to say more, Mr. Hyde responded for her, "This is Lady Macbeth. Her particular abilities, perhaps may be the most intriguing and dangerous of all."

When she finally reached her hands up to remove the hood, everyone stepped back in alarm, except for the Evil Queen, who only looked at her with fascination upon seeing that her skin appeared to be partially decayed and her eyes vacant as well as pure white, making it obvious that the woman was blind.

The Queen smiled as she replied interestedly, "I'm intrigued. Please, go on."

"I can see all that each of you have done in life, as well as what you each will do in the future, as I have been cursed to become the Fate of the Underworld after I stole the all seeing eye from the three witches who possessed it before me," the witch answered quietly. "Guilt plagued my soul and therefore I killed myself after convincing my husband to commit regicide so that I would become Queen of my own land. I committed unspeakable crimes in my life and was thus sentenced to eternity within Tartarus by Hades, the former God of the Underworld. However, I refused to accept my punishment and stealing the eye resulted in the deaths of the Fates. I was forced to take their place, yet I still refused to accept this and so I fled from the hell below and roamed the earth. Because I refused to return, Hades punished me yet again to live eternity in decay."

"When I first came across Lady Macbeth after she found her way into our world, her skin was rotted and her own beauty tarnished," Hyde continued for her. "So, I created a potion to help cease her deterioration. However, it only worked for a short time until the decay continued to return, again and again. Now, she must drink of it often if she wishes to remain beautiful like she was once. As you can see, the potion has again begun to wear off. I'm in the process of making another dose as we speak."

Milady stared at the Fate as she asked, "What makes her so dangerous?"

Moriarty responded, "Imagine having the knowledge of your future. If we ask to know of our fates, we will change all that we do in order to ensure that our fates come to pass, not knowing of the consequences that could occur should we do so. For all we know, we could only make our fate worse than it was meant to be."

"I still believe her abilities could be of great use to us," Regina's counterpart replied smugly and then turned to the final villain yet to reveal himself to them. "And you must be Dorian Gray. What is it that you can do for us?"

"Like Mademoiselle de Winter, I am immortal and an expert swordsman," the handsome gentleman who carried a staff with him answered. "I have been called a narcissist by all I once knew. They were right. I have no conscience as it becomes transferred into a painting an artist created of me long ago. I can do whatever I please, indulge in every pleasure both moral and immoral without suffering from remorse and guilt. My only weakness is, should the painting become destroyed, I will die. Therefore, I've hidden it away in a place only I know and is protected by magic. I am at your service, Your Majesty."

The Evil Queen nodded and then said, "Each of you appear to have a skillset or ability that might serve me well. I'll admit, you intrigue me. But know if you fail me in my endeavor to destroy the heroes of this land or betray me, I will destroy you instead. And believe me, I have all the power I need to be able to do it, whether you have immortality or not. Do I make myself clear?"

Each of them kept their eyes on the powerful woman in want of taking charge of the strange world they have come to find themselves in without saying a word, then Milady finally stepped forward and answered, "I do believe we have an accord, Your Majesty. When do we begin?"


	12. Chapter 12

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twelve

Back in Killian's past…

After he swabbed the deck the entire length of the ship and finally finished cooking the night's meal and served Captain Silver and the rest of the crew, Liam quickly dished two small portions into wooden bowls, grabbed a plate with two pieces of stale bread on them, then quietly made his way down into the brig. Killian was lying uncomfortably inside one of the cells on his side, not bothering to sit up when his brother entered the room or even when Liam passed the food through the bars when he took a seat on the ground outside of the cage.

"You should really eat you know?" Liam said quietly as he looked down at the young man before him, then took a bite of the stew within the bowl on his plate. "You're lucky to get anything at all right now with all your misbehaving, yet I know that you haven't eaten anything in two days."

"Perhaps if you would stop treating me like I was still five years old, I might," Killian answered curtly without looking at him. "I'm sixteen, Liam. I'm not some fragile kid who's going to break whenever I get another beating from the men. I'm used to it."

The older man nodded as he pulled out a flask from a pocket inside his coat and took a sip from it, then responded, "You're right. You're not a child any longer, but I am worried about you, Killian. And it's still my job to look out for you. What happened earlier? Was Silver mocking you about our father again?"

Without another word, he teenager simply closed his eyes and turned his back to his brother, allowing Liam to see the newest lash marks despite the torn, filthy and bloody shirt he was still wearing and found that he was given several more than the pirates usually punished him with. Liam grit his teeth and angrily punched the floor, then stood up to leave.

He walked back down a few minutes later with the keys to the cell in his hand, as well as a decanter, then immediately unlocked the brig's door and sat down beside Killian as he spoke up again saying, "Take it easy, I'm only going to try to clean you up the best I can. You really need to get a handle on your temper. When are you ever going to learn?"

"I never asked you to take care of me!" the younger Jones shouted angrily when he sat up and suddenly threw the decanter Liam and set on the floor beside him against the cell's bars. "I don't need you to take care of me anymore. You should just find a way off this bloody ship like we both have been dreaming about and forget about me if I'm such a burden."

"I didn't mean it like that," Liam replied sadly as he looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "You're not a burden to me, Killian. You never have been. And I won't ever leave you behind with these bastards. You're hurting. I just want to help you, please."

Killian finally raised his head to look at his brother as he answered in frustration, "I'm sorry. I know you mean well."

Liam smiled, then helped the younger man to sit again and asked, "So, Silver begin to talk about our father again?"

"Aye," he responded as he reached out and finally began to eat the stew Liam brought in for him, while his brother went back up on deck to fetch more water and continued to help him when he returned. "I punched Silver until the other men grabbed hold of me. Each of the crew had the privilege of taking their own turn beating the hell out of me while you were in town with the first mate getting their new supply of rum. Did you see her again?"

"The most beautiful woman has walked out of my life forever," he replied somberly. "I wish I never told her I was really a servant to the Captain. Rosalie left me for Boris. Apparently being first mate of a fearsome pirate captain is far more appealing to a woman like her."

Killian smiled until he squeezed his eyes closed as a wave of pain fell over him while Liam worked, then he answered, "You never should have told her the truth. I warned you that the truth would only bring you pain."

Liam smiled as he responded, "I cared about her, Killian. I wanted her to know the truth about who I was, as much as I wanted her to meet you."

"I'm sorry, brother," the teenager replied sincerely.

"What did Silver say about Father this time?" the older man asked sadly, knowing how hard it was for his brother to talk about him.

He set the bowl down as he finished eating and then stated, "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have allowed him to get to me."

Liam turned him around to look at him as he asked with concern, "What did he say?"

"That even though father is a fugitive from the law, surely he's now much better off without having a worthless shit like me for a son," Killian answered sadly. "There was more than that, but that was the idea."

"It's not true," the twenty year old responded firmly. "You're a fine man, little brother. I hope one day you'll realize it too."

The younger man glared at Liam as he replied, "I'm younger than you, but that doesn't make me little."

Present…

 _Just after he killed David while in the Underworld, Killian looked over at the blonde woman as he said, "You should have known this would happen one day the moment you met me. But instead you chose to see the good in me that isn't there."_

 _"Mom!" Emma shouted again as Killian struck Snow White down as he had done to her father, then immediately did the same to Henry and Regina as the Queen attempted to shoot a fireball to stop him before he could kill anyone else, only to fail as she too was killed before she could. "Henry! Regina! No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Hook… You really are a monster."_

 _"I tried to warn you, love," Hook answered cruelly as he looked into Emma's eyes at last as a single tear slipped down his cheek. "I tried to warn you, love. But for what it's worth, I am truly sorry. Goodbye, Swan."_

 _Without any more hesitation, Hook raised the Gods' crystal once again and fired a final bolt of lightning directly into the heart of the Savior causing Emma to cry out in agony as she fell to the ground just as her parents, her son, and Regina had. And when the heroes were dead, he turned to walk away from their bodies and took a seat upon Hades' throne._

 _All of a sudden, the nightmare changed again as Brennan found himself bound to the post inside the brig he had become imprisoned in shortly after being captured by the cruel man he had sold his sons in order to escape from while still alive. The Lord walked over to stand before his captive and laughed, then struck him hard across his face and turned to the three men behind him._

 _Brennan struggled to break free until he was suddenly struck again across his legs as the two men began to beat him over and over with clubs and when the sheriff finally stopped them, he stepped forward again, then spoke up saying, "I have to tell you, I was surprised when my soldiers told me you wound up down here. When I had my wife put you under the curse for killing my brother, I figured you would be spending eternity asleep, but I am glad you managed to break free. This is a much better punishment."_

 _The prisoner fought through his pain and then responded, "I told you, I didn't mean to kill your brother. He killed my wife, the mother of my two boys because I couldn't afford to pay him the money I owed him. Then he burned our house to the ground. I only went to him to beg him for mercy so that he wouldn't return to hurt me or my boys too, but when he began to laugh at me for being a coward, my rage overpowered me. He tried to kill me too. I was defending myself."_

 _"And now, you're paying for it," the man in charge of his torment replied as one of the others with him stepped forward again, though this time with hot fire poker in his hand and began to use it to burn him until it became cold. "A sleeping curse was too good for you. And now I can do whatever I want to you for eternity. Or until I decide when I'm ready to see you thrown into the fires of Tartarus. Have fun boys. Make him scream."_

It was then that Brennan suddenly bolted awake and sat up from the bedroll he had laid out on the ground after he left the villains once their gathering ended to try to get some sleep, as his head was killing him from the Evil Queen's magic. The pain started as a dull ache, but continued to worsen the more his son continued to struggle against him.

"I should have known that my torment wouldn't end with being resurrected from the dead," the oldest Jones thought to himself when he stood and left the camp to go out for a walk despite the darkness that was slowly disappearing as the sun began to rise.

He became startled when Killian answered weakly, " _Nightmares are the least that we villains deserve for all the pain we've caused those we've hurt and killed._ "

Realizing that he was hearing his son's voice clearly from the back of his mind like he had earlier until his son had long since given up, Brennan spoke to him as though Killian was standing before him as he responded, "I nearly forgot you were still here. You've been quiet for some time."

" _There was no longer a point in talking,_ " Hook replied curtly. " _You got pretty good at ignoring me and the more I spoke and fought against you, the worse my agony became. But just because I'm choosing to be silent, don't think that I've given up. I'm simply conserving my strength and biding time for Emma to find me._ "

"Even if she does, she won't be able to pull me out now," Brennan answered as he slowly walked through the woods, not caring that he was no longer under the protection of Hyde's cloaking spell. "I'm a part of you, Killian. Whether you like it or not and in time, you'll be too weak to keep fighting against me."

Killian whispered, " _I won't ever stop fighting you, not so long as I have hope. That's what the Savior's taught me, Father._ "

He laughed and then responded, "I guess I'm going to have to change that. Tell me about your dream. It isn't a memory as mine was."

" _I shouldn't have to explain,_ " the pirate replied sadly. " _You're inside my mind. You can read my thoughts, my memories… You know all about me now._ "

"You're right, but I don't understand why you dream about killing all those you love when everyone returned from the Underworld and Hades was the only one defeated," Brennan answered until realization hit him again upon the image of one of the heroes' casket being lowered into the ground.

Hook responded sadly, " _Not all of us did survive and Emma and her family very easily could have been killed down there in that hell. They are heroes and they are the bravest, the strongest people I know and love, but as Robin's strength died out, theirs very well could have as well. And it would have been my fault. Robin died because of me._ "

The older Jones shook his head as several more of his son's memories flooded into their mind and then replied, "It's Emma's fault for turning you into the Dark One and then killing you in order to save herself and the rest of her family and friends. Not to mention that she was the one who followed you down into the Underworld and dragged her loved ones down there to save you. She's to blame for the thief's death, for allowing Hades to escape. You see yourself as the villain because you believe that all that's happening, are the consequences of your death and resurrection."

" _I wasn't wrong,_ " Killian stated worryingly. " _Because of me, you've been allowed to return and you're working for the Evil Queen to help destroy those I love. Because of me, you know all of their strengths, their weaknesses, and therefore you know how to hurt them. If you ever loved me at all… I beg you, please leave the Queen's new band of villains and leave Storybrooke. You and I are now bound together and though it pains me to be trapped within the back of my own mind and unable to be in control of my own body, I will stop fighting you. I will help you get to the Enchanted Forest to see if we can find out whether or not your youngest son, Liam is still alive, and I will then guide you to Neverland where you can live for centuries just as I have. But I am begging you not to do this. If you would allow me…_ "

"No, I won't allow you to speak to Emma, even if you say it's to convince her to let you go," Brennan interrupted angrily. "You've only just begun your life with her after centuries of pain and misery. You want to warn her of the danger that's coming for them. I can read your thoughts, remember Killian? You can't trick me! Soon, you will be no more than a nagging conscience in the back of my mind and all those you love will die. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I begged you not to kill me. You should have been the better man back then."


	13. Chapter 13

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirteen

Shortly after the others were able to free Regina from the magic mirror, all of them were gathered around the table in the center of the room as Regina worked on creating a locator's spell to help find her other self, while Emma did the same for Killian, having had no luck in finding him at the one place the pirate captain would have most likely gone. It wasn't that the Savior hadn't thought to try this spell to find him before, but her mind was so frazzled by her fear for the man she loved and her anger toward the father of the man she loved, that she couldn't do anything, but to search around herself rather than trust in magic she felt was going to be a waste of time. Unfortunately Emma was right, as the locator spells came up with nothing, making it appear as though neither Brennan nor the Evil Queen were in Storybrooke any longer.

Emma groaned in frustration and then spoke up saying, "This can't be possible. He's got to still be here. The Evil Queen wouldn't have just helped Brennan break out without demanding something from him in return."

Snow patted her daughter's shoulder as she responded calmly, "He's helping her by trying to keep us distracted, as most of our focuses are on finding him so that we can save Killian."

"Yes, but not all of us will be doing that," Zelena answered as she gathered ingredients together within the cauldron to create another spell to try to help her sister. "Regina and I will be searching for… You know what? We really need to come up with another name for the other one. We can't very well call her Regina too and it's much too much of an effort to just keep calling her, the Evil Queen."

"Zelena's right," Henry replied in agreement. "But what else can we call her? Regina Two is even confusing and she's not the Mayor here, so we can't call her Madam Mayor."

David shook his head as he responded, "Regina Two is the best we've got for now. As for when we actually address her…"

Zelena interrupted as she said, "Queenie works for me."

"So, why didn't either of the locator spells work for us?" Emma asked crossly, in order to bring everyone back on point. "If they're still here in town, they should have worked unless there's something strange going on with our magic again. But that can't be. Our magic worked just fine when we freed Regina from the mirror."

"A cloaking spell," Regina answered, finally speaking up as she had been concentrating helping her sister with their next attempt to find the villains. "It's the only thing that could be blocking our magic right now. But Zelena and I believe we have a way around that. We won't be able to pinpoint an exact location, unless of course we can see that they're somewhere near a familiar landmark of sorts, but we might just be able to get a better idea as to where they could be."

With hope in her voice, Emma quickly replied, "That's great, let's do it!"

Without any more hesitation, both sisters nodded to each other and ignited their magic as they fired it into the broken mirror to repair the glass, then Regina merged their potion with the mirror and when the magic began to work, Regina looked between the Savior and her parents as she said, "It's not exactly like searching other worlds, though under normal circumstances, searching Storybrooke should be much more simple. Without the cloaking spell, this would be, but unfortunately for us it's going to take a bit more effort. This should help us out a little."

"Killian," Emma whispered sadly upon seeing his image appear clearly within the looking glass.

"Not Killian, only Hook's father," Snow responded worryingly, seeing that the man within their friend's body was asleep, though he looked as if to be caught up within a nightmare as he began to toss and turn while his face was scrunched in pain and fear. "He's dreaming."

David looked over at the former Evil Queen as he asked quietly, "Regina, exactly how connected are they? I mean…"

She looked over at Emma, who stepped closer to the mirror and slowly roamed her hand over Killian's image in despair, then turned to the Prince and answered, "If you're asking are both men seeing whatever it is Hook or his father are dreaming about, then yes. They are entirely connected in every way. Whatever Hook thinks, feels, dreams, senses... his memories… Brennan Jones knows it all."

"Which could cause a lot of trouble for us," Zelena continued for her sister, as Hook suddenly awoke from his nightmare, then stood up and started walking. "Oh look, he's up and seems to be walking somewhere in the woods that surrounds this town."

"These woods are miles and miles long," Snow replied in frustration. "He could be anywhere and so could Regina two, along with Hyde and the Dragon. Hopefully any image of the Evil Queen will be of more help."

When Brennan within Hook's body began to talk out loud, Zelena stated, "And oh look… He appears to be talking to himself. Perhaps having two minds in one body has already begun to make him go mad."

Both Charming and Snow glared at the witch due to her involuntary callousness, as Henry quickly responded, "No, he's not talking to himself. He's talking to Killian. And Killian's probably talking to him too."

"I should have pleaded with Killian to open up about his nightmares," Emma spoke again as she tuned out everyone else within the room to try to focus on what was only a one sided conversation for those trying to listen. "I knew he blames himself…"

"With my other half gone, even I'm not angry at him anymore for being brought back when Robin couldn't be," Regina answered. "Or you for that matter. I'm going to search for the Queen now, since…"

However, she froze when Emma suddenly shouted, "No wait!"

The good Queen immediately asked sternly, "What?"

" _No, I won't allow you to speak to Emma, even if you say it's to convince her to let you go,_ " Emma heard Brennan say as he interrupted his son angrily. " _You've only just begun your life with her after centuries of pain and misery. You want to warn her of the danger that's coming for them. I can read your thoughts, remember Killian? You can't trick me! Soon, you will be no more than a nagging conscience in the back of my mind and all those you love will die. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I begged you not to kill me. You should have been the better man back then._ "

"Killian's losing hope," the Savior replied sadly as the image of the man she loved faded from the mirror. "But he hasn't given up yet. Do whatever you're going to do. Find the Evil Queen and whoever else is helping her. I'm going to search the woods for Killian, alone. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."


	14. Chapter 14

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Fourteen

The sun was slowly rising as a motorcycle came speeding through the quiet woods surrounding Storybrooke, then crossed the town line while the bike's runner kept his eyes on the road ahead of him until he heard the faint sound of a woman calling out to someone else she was searching for in the distance, causing him to turn his head to look for the source of the cry. Upon hearing the familiar voice again, the driver suddenly spun his bike around and braked so that he could continue to search the woods, which was when he finally found the source as he recognized the woman's long blonde hair and red leather jacket several yards away with her back to him. The rider immediately turned off the engine, took off his helmet and set it on the seat, then left his bike pulled over the side of the road as he ran down to his closest friend.

"Killian!" Emma cried out fearfully, even though she knew the man she loved couldn't answer her pleas for him to appear. "Damn it, Jones! I know you're out here. I know Hook can't answer me, but I just want to talk to you!"

"Emma!" the rider shouted, causing Emma to spin around nervously with her gun raised as she became startled, but was surprised upon seeing her old friend running toward her until he froze when she pointed her firearm at him. "Whoa! It's just me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She stared at him in shock, then slowly lowered the weapon down at her side as she stated, "August? What are you…? You're back!"

The once wooden boy smiled and then replied, "Yeah, I'm back. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sorry," the Savior responded in frustration as she finally put her gun back into its holster at her side, then turned away from him as she kept on walking while he followed close behind her, seeing the sadness and worry on her face. "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"I can tell," he answered with concern. "I'm guessing there's another crisis?"

Emma smiled sadly when an image of Killian flashed into her mind from the moment just before the giant snow monster Elsa had once created on the day they met her as she heard his words, " _There is always a crisis. Perhaps you should consider living your life during them. Otherwise, you might miss it._ "

When she seemed to blank out, August quickened his pace as he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking, then moved around to stand in front of her and asked worryingly, "Emma, are you alright? What's going on?"

"You're going to wish you never came back home," the Savior replied as she finally raised her head to look into her friend's eyes, allowing him to see the despair in her own. "Killian's life is in danger from his own son of a bitch father, who was risen from the Underworld to create trouble for all of us. Oh, then there's the Evil Queen who was split apart from Regina so that now we have two Reginas, one good and one who's evil. And she's trying to kill us all. So no, I'm not alright."

"I'll admit, I'm a bit confused," he responded. "Let's start with Hook. I know how much you care about him. What happened?"

Emma shook her head as she answered sadly, "I don't just care about him anymore, August. A lot's happened here since I became the Dark One and we all disappeared and wound up in Camelot. Despite the darkness, Killian and I fell in love. We were already in love before, but… I mean our love only deepened and then I lost him."

She went on to explain the rest of their story, of how the only way to save Hook was to turn him into another Dark One, how the darkness overpowered him and how he got them home to Storybrooke again, how Killian had sacrificed himself in order to save her and the rest of her family and to try to rid the world of the darkness, then how they travelled down into the Underworld to save him, and finally how Hades had arrived to create the chaos that resulted in Robin's death and the reason why she and Snow had helped Regina to rid herself of her own evil inside of her.

When she finished the long explanation, August sighed and was about to say something until Emma continued, "We've only been back from the Underworld a few days and Killian's life is already at stake because his father, who was also just pulled free from the Underworld by the Evil Queen, has taken over his mind and body."

"Why would the Queen want to resurrect his father to create trouble for us?" he asked when they finally started walking again, while they continued Emma's search for Hook together. "How would she even know about Hook's father, or that he would even be the distraction she needed for whatever else she has planned?"

"Because the Queen sent my son to kill me," Brennan replied coldly as he suddenly appeared behind them, having heard the Savior calling out for Killian before while he too continued walking through the woods to think. "She knew that I'd be willing to put aside my anger toward her and put it toward the man who was really responsible for my torment."

Emma and August both spun around upon hearing Hook's voice, seeing that the soul inside his body had Killian's pistol raised and aimed at them, then Emma spoke again as she responded softly, "Kill… Brennan! Please, I just want to talk."

August slowly raised his arms to show that he had no intention of trying to attack, while the Savior simply glared at Brennan as he chortled and then answered, "Yes, so I heard. You really shouldn't have been shouting as you searched for me. You gave away your location and easily allowed me to sneak up on you."

"I wasn't trying to hide," she replied curtly. "I won't hurt you. Because I'll do anything in my power to keep Killian from being hurt."

"That's very admirable," the dead man responded as he smiled and then leaned up against the tree closest to him, while still keeping the weapon trained on both of the heroes. "If you believe you can appeal to the love I once felt for Killian, you're mistaken, Miss. Swan. I suppose a part of me will always love him. After all he is my son, but it's certainly not strong enough for me to ask for your help to free him from me. It's as I told you at your friend's diner. I gave Killian every opportunity to spare my life, for his own sake and the sake of my third son. But he couldn't let go of his anger toward me for what I had done to him and his brother, or his hate. And now because of him I refuse to let go of mine."

Emma carefully took a few steps closer until he cocked the hammer back on the pistol, and she stopped as she also raised her hands to show she wasn't a threat, then spoke again saying sadly, "A father's supposed to love their children unconditionally, no matter what they might do to hurt them. Believe me, I've cause both of my parents enough pain, but they never gave up on me. Not even when I was the Dark One. You said that you didn't blame Killian for killing you at first, that you were only disappointed. However, you chose to allow your disappointment to turn into the hate you feel for him now, but you can change that. You just need to understand why Killian did what he did. You've got the knowledge you need. Just search his mind like you've been doing for everything else. You know how much it pains him to live with what he did."

It was then that another woman walked up from behind them with her own pistol also aimed at the two heroes, startling everyone including Brennan, as she answered, "It's a real shame that the poor pirate's feeling such guilt, but I have a feeling that my new friend here couldn't care less anymore over anything so trivial. Isn't that right, Mon Cheri?"

Emma moved back to stand between August and the villains in order to keep her friend protected, then she looked at the newcomer with surprise as she asked curtly, "Who the hell are you now?"

"I have several names, but most people know me best as Milady de Winter," the assassin replied smugly.

"You've got to be kidding," the Savior said with disbelief. "You're that French spy out of _The Three Musketeers_? I had to read that book back in high school, or kind of. I never actually got past the first chapter."

August kept his eyes trained on the villains while he responded, "After everything you've seen and fought against, you're still surprised by which fairytale characters are real?"

Emma glanced back at him, then quickly turned back to the others as she answered coldly, "Well, we're kind of dealing with a whole new world here. She's not one of the classic fairytales, is she?"

"Point taken," he replied nervously as both Brennan and Milady moved in toward them as the other woman walked around to stand beside her ally. "What are we going to do now? She doesn't exactly strike me as someone you can try to appeal to the good that's inside of her."

"Enough talk," Milady stated angrily, as she glared back at the blonde, then continued talking to Brennan. "Let's just shoot them and save the Queen the trouble of having to deal with the Savior and this other hero, whoever he is. Can you kill the woman, or shall I do it?"

Brennan stared into Emma's eyes and it appeared that he was struggling with his conscience, but he shook his head as he responded, "No. I can do it. She won't use her magic. She's too afraid of hurting my son."

The Savior immediately raised her hands to defend herself and August when both villains pulled back on the hammers of their weapons, but all of a sudden, Brennan swiftly elbowed the assassin in her face and knocked her out cold, then collapsed to his knees as he held his hand to his head while he gasped in pain like he had at Granny's and before either of the heroes could understand what was happening, he uttered faintly, "Swan, I'm still… here. Aah!"

"Killian!" she cried out with fear as she immediately rushed to his side, kneeling down in front of him and reached out to touch his face with one hand, held him tightly to her with the other, then August raced over to knock the other woman's old fashioned gun away from her while she was unconscious and took Hook's weapon from his hand as well. "You broke through."

"Not for very… very long," he whispered, keeping his eyes squeezed closed as he continued to struggle against the agony in his head. "I'm not… giving up, but you… you're in dang… danger. Gold's cabin… They're hidden."

Emma quickly turned her head to look at August, who was staring down at them with remorse, and then she looked back at Killian again as she answered, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to stop them. Regina's fought herself and beaten her before. As for Hyde and that woman…"

Hook shook his head as he interrupted, "There's more. You have to stop them… all of them. Do what… ever you have to… to save your… yourselves."

"I need you to hold on," she pleaded while tears began to fall down her cheeks as she gently put her forehead against his and pulled him in closer to her, feeling his body trembling against the heavy strain while he fought to remain on the surface. "How can I help you?"

"You can… can't," he gasped as he could feel his father struggling to force him back down again, while Killian feebly reached up with his hook to pull back his leather jacket and black shirt enough in order to reveal the binding link burned into his chest.

When she saw what looked like a large branding mark, Emma closed her eyes as she became angry about what his father and the Evil Queen had done to him, then she attempted to stand and pull Killian up with her until he fought against her while he cried out again, "No, I'm… sorry. I can't! Aah!"

He finally managed to open his eyes as he looked up weakly into hers as he spoke again saying wearily, "I lo… love you, Emma."

When he couldn't talk any longer as his head fell to his chest, Emma took his face in her hands and kissed him tenderly for only a few moments until Killian pulled back as another wave of agony overpowered him again while he screamed, but as the woman who loved him tried to pull him into her arms to try to help him, Brennan finally pushed through as he immediately grabbed Emma's gun from her holster, then struggled to rise from the ground while he aimed her firearm at her and August once again.

"Killian's much stronger than I thought," the monster inside of Hook's body said cruelly. "But it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time before you heroes are all brought to your knees."

"I take it this means you're back with me?" Milady asked curtly as she stood from the ground after she awoke, grabbing hold of Hook's hook for support when Brennan held it out for her, then picked up her pistol that had been kicked away from her to aim it at her enemies again as well. "I hope you don't ever let that happen again. I'd hate to have your son get in between you and me."

August immediately grabbed hold of Emma and held her back to keep her from attacking the woman when Milady turned to Brennan as she leaned in close to kiss him, while the weapons remained trained on them, then she snarled, "Don't think that whatever you think is going on between the two of you, will last. I'm getting Killian back. Brennan here… is going straight back to his hell in the Underworld and you bitch… You and whoever else you're working with, including the Evil Queen, are all going to end up in a nice prison until we figure how what to do with you in the long run, or you'll wind up dead and in Tartarus where you and him might just be able to be together for the rest of forever after all."

Milady de Winter laughed manically and then replied, "I'm afraid neither will be my fate, Miss. Swan. You can do your best to bring me to justice or take your revenge on me for helping to steal away the man you love, whatever it is you choose, but you won't succeed in either."

"What makes you so confident?" August asked with confusion as he looked over at Emma, who also looked at him, then they both turned back to the other woman.

"I live an immortal life with eternal beauty and no prison you can conjure up, magical or not, can hold me thanks to a genie within my possession," the villainess responded smugly as she raised her pistol higher, cocked back the hammer again and was about to fire at Emma until Brennan reached out to stop her.

Milady looked at him sternly as she asked, "What are you doing? We should kill them now like we planned."

He nodded, then answered, "I have no problem with doing so, but I fear that the Queen will be enraged when she learns that we stole her pleasure of killing the Savior herself. You may have nothing to fear, Milady. But I cannot risk her sending me back to the Underworld. I won't go back there. Why else do you think that I'm so willing to condemn my own son to this kind of hell, other than for the hate I hold against him?"

"Very well," she replied coolly. "You may be right. We should probably be getting back anyway. She'll wonder where you disappeared to and why I followed after you."

"Go ahead and try to follow after us, Miss. Swan, if you wish," Brennan stated as he turned back to Emma and her friend. "But it will only waste your precious time that you ought to be spending with the rest of your loved ones trying to come up with a way to protect yourselves against our impending attack."

As he and Milady walked away and disappeared into the trees, while August had to hold Emma back from going after them, he pleaded, "You can't help him right now, Emma. You'll only get yourself, and me killed, especially should the Evil Queen make an appearance."

Emma glared back at her friend and broke free of his hold on her, then responded angrily, "Fine. You're right. I just can't stand that woman being anywhere near Killian."

"Even if what she said is true, about being unable to be imprisoned or killed, we'll find a way to stop her and save Hook from his father," the man who was also Pinocchio answered, pulling the Savior into a hug for comfort.

"I'm afraid," she whispered sadly as he held her. "I can't lose him, not again."


	15. Chapter 15

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Fifteen

When Brennan and Milady finally re-entered the woods protected by the cloaking spell after they returned from their confrontation with the Savior, the Queen suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke before them and noticed they were holding hands until they immediately let go as they froze, then she chortled and asked coldly, "So, did the two of you enjoy your little walk in the woods? You felt, it was necessary to leave the boundaries of my protection so that you could have a little fun and begin this… twisted little romance that has rapidly budded between the two of you?"

Unintimidated by the Evil Queen's anger, Milady scoffed as she answered, "Relax, Your Majesty. Nothing happened, unless you wish to count the lust that might have fallen over Brennan and I. But if you're worried about the heroes finding us, don't."

"Really?" Regina's double stated curtly and then used her magic to choke the assassin as she gasped and collapsed to the ground on her knees. "I may not be able to kill you, Milady, but I can certainly make you suffer if you presume to think that you and Jones here, did nothing wrong. If you want to have fun pursuing your lustful affiliation, I don't really care. But you will not risk me losing to these heroes ever again, not to have a little fling out from under my watchful eye and not to try to kill the Savior again, to save me the trouble, I believe you put it."

"You were spying on us?" Brennan asked nervously, as he took a few steps back to stand further away from her.

The Queen smiled smugly as she walked the few steps he took so that she was once again right in front of the man she had returned from the dead, finally releasing the other woman from her power, and then replied, "You know exactly what it is I can do, Jones. Courtesy of the pirate's thoughts and memories. Yes, I was spying on you, because I like to make sure my so called allies don't try to screw me. The only reason why I haven't killed you and your son… is because you stopped your girlfriend here from taking away my pleasure of killing Emma Swan myself. And because you knew better than to cross me. Leave this area of the woods again, and there is no second chance. Have I made myself clear?"

Brennan nodded as she backed off and began to walk around to face the other villain back on her feet, then he quickly spoke up again asking, "Were you spying on Killian the night he killed me? To see if you would need to intervene?"

"It's as I told some of the heroes last night," the dark side of the town's Mayor responded callously. "I had to make sure Hook did as I demanded of him if he had any hope of getting his revenge on Rumpelstiltskin. I wanted to see how far I could push your son and I enjoyed every moment as Captain Hook thrust his dagger deep into your chest and stood over your body while he watched you breathe your last breath. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I need to know one more thing," he said again brusquely. "I've helped you to distract the heroes and have given you information that will help you to defeat them. I have kept up my end of our deal. Will you do the same? Will you help me leave this God forsaken place so that I can find my other son?"

The Evil Queen answered honestly, "If you agree to do one more thing for me with a little help other than from this assassin here, and don't allow your son to break free again to try to spoil everything like before, then yes. I will help you get back to your good son and you will be free to live for however long Hook's knowledge of Neverland will keep you alive, free from my services."

Brennan glared at the woman with a hold over them all and then replied, "If you feel that I have to be the one to do this service for you, then I agree. What do you need?"

Back in town...

The sun was fully risen and the town was wide awake as all shop owners presumed their businesses including Granny, who got busy firing up the grills inside her diner to prepare for the early morning breakfast rush that would be arriving shortly. Henry was among the first of her patrons to enter as he waved to the old woman on his way over to the booth where he sat to wait for the food he had called in for his family, followed a few minutes later by the young woman from Camelot who had taken a liking to the young hero.

"Violet?" Henry stated with surprise upon seeing the girl he really liked come in and then take a seat across from him as she smiled at him. "I didn't… It's really good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Henry," she responded sincerely as he quickly glanced at his watch on his wrist. "I'm glad you're here. I heard about what's happened, to Hook I mean. I'm so sorry."

Henry looked down sadly at the cup of cocoa Granny just set down before him, as well as one in front of Violet and quickly walked away again, then he raised his head again and answered, "Thanks. Killian and my mom don't deserve this. It isn't fair, not after all they've suffered through already and have fought so hard to be together. I don't understand why fate seems to insist that they can't be together."

The young woman laid her hand down over his as she replied remorsefully, "Don't trust in fate, Henry. If there's anything I've learned since my father and I have met you and your family, it's that there's nothing you guys can't achieve. You'll find Hook and defeat whoever's responsible for hurting him. How is your mom holding up?"

"My grandparents finally convinced her to try to get some rest while they wait for my other mom and Zelena to arrive, but knowing her as well as I do, I doubt she's getting much," the fifteen year old responded in frustration. "She's pretty upset. She came to our apartment this morning, angry and afraid because she finally managed to find him and he even managed to break free from the man who's possessed him for a very brief time, but he's in a lot of pain. And there was also another villain with him, who Mom says has become dangerously infatuated with him."

"There are rumors spreading about an evil Queen being responsible for the trouble that's happening right now," Violet continued. "Is it true?"

Henry looked at his watch again and then answered nervously, "The rumors are true. This Queen is my mom's dark side that she found a way to free herself of while we were in New York. My adopted mom, not my birth mom. They thought they defeated the Evil Queen, but she somehow tricked them."

The fourteen year old looked at him with concern as she asked, "Are you sure you're okay, Henry?"

"I'm fine," he replied quickly. "I mean, I'm worried about…"

"I know you're worried about Hook and your moms, but you keep looking at your watch," she responded. "Are you expecting someone?"

Henry nodded and answered, "Yeah actually. Mom should be meeting me here with her sister before we head back to my grandparents' to talk with my other mom and August, who is a good friend of ours that arrived back in town early this morning as well."

All of sudden Brennan took a seat in the booth behind the two kids, along with a stranger Henry didn't recognize, as he placed his hook around Violet's throat and then spoke up saying coldly, "I guess I came at a good time then."

"Kill… You!" the fifteen year old replied worryingly as he looked into Killian's eyes and saw both cruelty and sadness. "What do you want? Please, let Violet go. And Killian too."

"Your mother begged me to let my son go too," the man possessing Hook responded smugly. "And just as I told her, I'm afraid I can't do that. And I won't be letting your sweetheart here go either. The four of us are going to go for a walk."

Henry glanced at the other villain with him, then back at Brennan as he asked, "Who is your friend?"

Hook's father smiled as the villains both ushered the teenagers up and escorted them out just as Granny stepped out from the kitchen with the Charmings' breakfast order in her hands until she froze upon seeing the kids in danger, then once they left the diner, Brennan answered coldly, "This man is hardly my friend, lad. Meet Dorian Gray."

"Don't call me lad," the young man replied angrily as he allowed them to guide him and Violet along to wherever the men were taking them to protect her. "That's what Killian calls me and it's just between us. I know who Dorian Gray is. He's a narcissistic monster without a conscience because it was transferred into a dark painting created of himself. He can do whatever he wants, without fear of death and consequence. Hyde was telling the truth. His friends are here in Storybrooke. Where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Dorian scoffed. "The Queen asked us to collect you before we set our plan in motion. The heroes will come for you soon."

Violet asked quietly, "You're going to use us as bait?"

Brennan responded cruelly, "You've been through this before. Or at least Henry has, on more than one occasion it seems. Don't act so surprised."


	16. Chapter 16

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Sixteen

Only moments after the two villains left the diner with Henry and Violet as their hostages, Regina and Zelena, along with Dr. Jekyll whom the women had gone to talk to after Regina had been freed from the mirror, walked in as Granny immediately stormed over to them and nervously explained that Hook, or the man possessing him, and another new stranger in town had come to abduct the teenagers and that Brennan had threatened Violet to get Henry to cooperate with them.

"Damn that witch!" Regina said curtly, angry that she didn't think to make sure that her son was better protected. "The Queen is going to use them both to lure us all into a trap and she knows we'll come. Violet must have come to meet Henry for breakfast like they've been doing practically every morning."

"You said that there was someone else with Hook?" Zelena asked as she looked over at the old woman still standing among them. "Did he say who he was?"

Granny thought for a moment and then replied, "I couldn't really hear most of what was said between them, but I believe Henry said the name Gray? Darian, or..."

Jekyll immediately cut in as he stated, "Dorian Gray. He's from my world, mine and Hyde's. And he's very dangerous."

"No more so than the Evil Queen," Regina answered in frustration. "I'm sure that whoever my dark side has allied herself with are all dangerous. But she won't hurt Henry, at least not for now. A part of her loves him even if it's the tiniest bit of feeling she possesses. It's really Violet who's in more danger right now. Come on, we need to get up to the Charmings' so that we can explain everything together and try to come up with a plan to stop these villains once and for all. Thank you, Granny."

"Good luck," the old woman responded worryingly. "Go save those children and Hook too. Let me know if there's anything you need from me. I'm always ready for a fight."

A few minutes later, the women and the doctor were in Snow's and David's apartment upstairs from the diner where they were explaining to Emma, her parents, and August that Henry and Violet had been taken. Then, Jekyll also went on to explain who Dorian Gray was, though Snow already knew from having read about him, not only in the novel written by Oscar Wilde, but in the new Authors books of fairytales and other tales brought back with them from New York.

Emma collapsed against the couch in frustration as she placed her head in her hands and in anger toward herself, she spoke up saying, "All this time I've been so focused on my worry for Killian. I should have made sure that Henry was safe. I should have known…"

Regina interrupted, "Don't think you're the only one feeling anger toward yourself. I was so caught up with myself, that I wasn't thinking much about him either. But after she trapped me in the mirror, she said that she couldn't hurt him. She cares about him too because she is after all a part of me."

"That may be true for now, but I fear it's only a matter of time before the darkness that is who and what she is, will consume her completely so that all that will be left is the evil that was once inside of you," Dr. Jekyll replied nervously as he looked between everyone else in the room. "That's how it was with Mr. Hyde, except that his evil grew while he was still a part of me. I was so consumed with fear that I had evil within me before I created the potion to help push it at bay, that I made my fear manifest into a completely new being after I drank it. Hyde is alive because of me and now so is the Evil Queen, for which I am so sorry."

"The Queen being free is my own fault," Regina answered sincerely. "And so is my son and his girlfriend being taken."

Snow walked over with baby Neal in her arms as she responded confidently, "Don't worry. We're going to find them and get them back. Emma said that Killian managed to tell her that Regina Two is hiding out among the rest of Hyde's cohorts, however many of them there are, at Gold's cabin in the woods."

Emma looked up at her mother and then to the others as she replied, "He did, but he couldn't say how many others there were, only that there were more. And from how he said it, it sounds like there's quite a few more. He also confirmed that they're hidden by the cloaking spell."

"At least we already know about Dorian Gray and Milady de Winter," David added in frustration. "Dr. Jekyll, do you have an idea who else among the people from your world might be working for the Evil Queen and Hyde?"

"It's hard to say for sure," the doctor answered. "I mean, there are a number of villains among those who are good from the Land of Untold Stories, but there are those who you might believe to be heroes in these books you've read about us, who might also be on the villains' side."

August quickly asked again, "Do any in particular come to mind?"

Jekyll thought for a moment and then responded, "Well, I can only think of a few other villains who could be among them. With the heroes, we just never really know for sure if they might be turned or swayed to work for the Queen or any of the others. If Milady is working for them, then Jafar is too, as she was his master until she used up her three wishes. However, they have an alliance between one another."

"Jafar, the villain from the Disney movie, _Aladdin_?" Emma questioned in disbelief as she looked over at August. "I don't know why I can't get a grasp on the fact that these characters are all real."

"He actually came from the novel, _1,001 Arabian Nights_ ," Snow said, then immediately apologized for correcting her daughter as Emma glared at her. " _Aladdin_ sounds better."

Jekyll then continued, "I am not really sure who else could be involved, but it's possible for anyone to be like I said."

David sat down on the couch beside Emma as he turned to face her and asked, "What else did Hook say to you before his father took over again?"

"Only that we were all in danger and then he begged us to do whatever we have to do to protect ourselves," the Savior replied sadly. "Actually, he struggled to show us some kind of branding mark burned into his chest just above his heart. I asked him how I can help him and all he could say was that I couldn't."

"What did this symbol look like?" Regina suddenly asked with concern as she looked down at her distraught friend.

Emma looked up at her in confusion as she answered, "I don't… Maybe like some kind of circle with a line crossing through it, though not completely."

Observing the Mayor's face, August added, "Does this mean something to you?"

"I'm afraid it does," Regina responded sadly. "The Queen used a binding link to lock Brennan inside of Hook's body."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked harshly as she stood up and walked over to stand in front of the woman. "What the hell is a binding link?"

Regina sighed and then replied quietly, "It's a symbol, or brand not caused by a branding iron, but by magic, that allows any possessing entity like a ghost or soul to remain inside the body they've taken possession of, making it impossible for anyone to pull the entity out. It also severely weakens those whose bodies are taken over, which is why Brennan is so much stronger than Hook is."

The Savior shook her head as she answered angrily, "No, I can't accept that! There has to be a way to save Killian. We have to get that son of a bitch out of him. Surely my magic is powerful enough to destroy it, or if the Evil Queen was able to burn it on, then she… and therefore you, should both be able to take it off."

"I'm so sorry, Emma," she responded with sincerity. "It's far easier to do than it is to undo. Back when Rumpelstiltskin was teaching me to use my magic, he told me about this kind of magic and said that only other being to have ever used it was the Dark One before him, at least until now. He showed me a book that spoke of this link, but I don't have it anymore. It was lost long ago before I cast the dark curse and I never thought of it again, especially since it's rare for there even to be a soul or ghost around to possess another person."

"What about your serum?" Emma asked again quickly as she turned to Dr. Jekyll. "If you could create more of the serum you created to split yourself from Hyde, could we use it to split Brennan from Killian, if we can find a way to remove the binding link?"

The man shook his head as he replied worryingly, "Whether you find a way to remove the link or not, I'm afraid that my serum wouldn't be able to free Hook because the vile man inside of him isn't his dark side as Hyde was mine, or as the Evil Queen was Regina's. Hook's father is a separate being or soul that is living within his son's body. I'm sorry."

David took his daughter's hand as he spoke up saying, "We won't give up on him."

"There has to be a way to destroy the link and I'll be damned if I ever give up trying to save him," Emma answered curtly, then stormed out of the apartment as both David and August stood up to go after her, knowing that she was most likely heading right to Gold's cabin to confront the Evil Queen and other villains without a plan.

Regina, Zelena, and Jekyll were about to go after them as well, but then paused as Regina looked back at Snow, who was still holding baby Neal in her arms, as her friend pleaded, "Don't let anything happen to her, Regina. Or Charming either. Please keep them safe."

"I'll protect them the best I can," the former Queen responded. "Stay here and protect your son. If any trouble arises…"

"I'll call for some back up of my own," the Princess interrupted. "Be careful."

Regina then stated, "We will. I think I have an idea."

Meanwhile inside Gold's cabin…

Henry and Violet were sitting together tied up in the corner of the room, while Brennan in Killian's body stood nearby, as did Milady. His adopted mother's dark side paced back and forth out of anger upon learning from her teenage son that Regina had already been freed from the mirror, having believed that she was the only one powerful enough to break her out. Once again, she had underestimated the heroes' strength and magic.

Henry looked between the villains in the room and then asked brusquely, "Why did you send Killian… Brennan to the diner to come and get me? You could have sent anyone else with Dorian, or just Gray by himself. Why Brennan?"

"Perhaps I simply wanted to send along someone more familiar to collect you for your own safety," the Evil Queen replied coldly as she glared over at the fifteen year old boy. "So that you wouldn't be stupid enough to fight against him, since you foolishly care about the pirate so much and don't want to see him get hurt. I know you're more concerned about Hook right now than you are about yourself, or even your little girlfriend."

"That's because I know that my moms and the rest of my family will save Violet and me," Henry retorted confidently as he turned his head to look over at his friend and his mother's true love. "I hate to say it, but I'm not so sure about Killian. I know that none of us will give up trying to help him, but Mom told us about the branding mark. It's some kind of seal, isn't it? If Killian does die, or Brennan succeeds in returning to the Enchanted Forest still possessing his son, then we'll make sure that you regret coming here to Storybrooke and messing with my family."

Brennan moved from where he stood and knelt down in front of the boy as he said cruelly, "Your concern for my son is admirable, just as I told your mother. It's almost touching even. But it's a waste of your energy, as you should be more concerned about yourselves. There is nothing you or the other heroes, including the Savior, can do to help him now. And Killian certainly isn't worth your pity."

While Henry simply glared at the man he was struggling to see over his friend, Violet asked sadly, "How can you be so cruel toward your own son? Killian is a good man."

"A good man doesn't murder his own father," he answered sternly.

"And a father doesn't sell his own sons into servitude to a pirate, abandoning them on the high seas just that so he can save himself from the law coming after him for crimes he committed," the young man responded in anger, then continued on. "Killian made a lot of mistakes, some that were really bad, but he's atoned for those mistakes. He's become like a father to me even when I didn't want him to, because I was struggling to deal with my own father's death. If I can do anything to help save Killian from you, I will. You're just another monster, who's no better than the rest of these villains."

The man possessing Hook furiously raised his arm to backhand the Savior's son as he prepared himself for the assault until all of a sudden Brennan froze, appearing to be fighting against an invisible force, but Henry knew that Killian was struggling against his father to protect him and tried to break free of the ropes binding his hands behind his back while he immediately cried out, "Killian! Hang on. You can fight him."

He lowered his arm, but it was Brennan who spoke up again instead of Killian as he grabbed the front of Henry's shirt with his hook in order to pull him close while saying, "You're lucky, boy. I may not have full control over my son yet, but he can't protect you forever and soon neither of your mothers will be able to either."

"You'll lose," the fifteen year old replied smugly as he looked him right in his eyes, then Brennan released him by shoving him back against the wall behind him and stood up to leave the cabin, but stopped when the Evil Queen stepped in his way.

"The only reason why the pirate is able to keep breaking through is because you're allowing these heroes to get under your skin," she snarled while she glared at the dead man before her. "Get control over him and go get onboard your new ship. Take Milady with you for all I care. I don't trust her to look out for anyone, but herself. It won't be long now before they come for the kids and you get to leave this world to find your own precious son. The rest of us can handle our enemies and open the portal for your trip."

Brennan looked at the woman skeptically, looking for any sense of deceit, and then asked coldly, "Why are you really helping me? I mean, why are you giving me everything I want when you enlisted my son to kill me? I know that you don't do anything without it benefitting you."

The evil woman smiled and laughed, then she answered, "You disappearing in possession of Captain Hook's mind and body does benefit me, Jones. I want to snuff out the light and destroy all that's good in this crummy little town that will only be the beginning of my rise to power once more. Regina and Emma Swan are the only real threats standing in my way so if I want to defeat the rest of the heroes, I need to destroy them first. My other self I can handle, but Emma is different. She's the Savior and I can't actually kill her because she is the product of true love. Her power is far greater than my own. So in order to make her suffer, I have taken away her own true love and this is a far worse fate for your son than death once again could ever be."

"I understand," the man responded. "Then thank you, Your Majesty."

"You won't get away with this!" Henry called out angrily as Brennan and Milady both left the cabin, leaving the Queen alone with the boy and girl. "My moms and the others will stop you!"

She chortled again and then replied, "No they won't. Not this time."

A short time later…

Emma appeared in a cloud of white smoke at the bridge that was a half a mile away from Gold's cabin, then started walking across it until she was suddenly forced back by an invisible barrier in her way of entering the woods surrounding the lodge. She banged her fists against it in frustration, then finally stopped and raised her hands to use her magic in hope of breaking through the strange cloak that protected the villains she knew were hiding nearby with her son and his girlfriend, as well as Killian as their captives.

It was taking too long to break through and she knew that she was letting her anger and fear get in the way of thinking rationally. Thankfully, Regina, Zelena, David, Jekyll, and August all appeared in the other powerful women's own magic as Emma dropped onto the ground on her knees when she suddenly became overwhelmed.

David ran to his daughter and pulled her into her arms as he whispered, "It's going to be okay, Emma. But going off alone is the worst thing you can do for Henry and Hook. We need to work together."

"And I've got a plan to draw my evil twin out," Regina added positively. "If you're willing…?"

"Whatever it is, let's do it," the Savior answered as she looked between her friends behind her and David.

Regina smiled and then raised her hands high above her as she suddenly fired off several fireworks into the sky while she responded, "She lured me into a trap using lights in the sky. It's only right that we should do the same."

Inside the cabin, the Queen suddenly heard the loud explosions coming from the area of the bridge a half a mile away and stepped outside, seeing the fireworks being fired off above them, while several of the storybook characters all left their shelters to find out the sources for the noise.

The evil woman chortled and then looked back at her allies standing with her as she stated, "It's time. Jafar, if you please?"

Within minutes that Regina began the light show, her other self appeared in a black cloud behind the woman standing alone at the end of the bridge, along with Hyde and the few villains yet to reveal themselves, then Regina Two said, "I've got to say, I'm surprised that you were able to break free so soon. And I'm impressed, but you really believed it was wise to try to lure me out the same way I did you?"

"I thought it was fair play," Regina replied calmly as she lowered her arms again and kept her eyes on each of the Queen's allies cautiously surrounding her, except for one who remained behind the Queen, hidden beneath a dark cloak. "Where is my son and Violet?"

"This hero is not alone, nor is she your other half," Lady Macbeth spoke up saying as she pulled the Eye that made her as she was and began to read the woman's present and future.

The decoy posing as the former Evil Queen shrugged, then suddenly transformed into Zelena and answered, "Well… well, I've got to say we weren't expecting you to have a seer on your side, or whatever the hell this witch is, but I'm afraid we planned for every possibility. So sorry."

The Evil Queen fired a fireball off toward the Wicked Witch as she swiftly disappeared in cloud of green, then a shout came from behind them as the villains all spun around and saw Regina standing before them once again, then another decoy appeared, and another, and another, each disappearing as the Queen tried to blast them with her dark magic until all of the villains suddenly became surrounded themselves as they believed they had done to the real Regina.

All of a sudden, a hidden voice immediately shouted, "Now!"

Without hesitation, each of the decoys slammed a white crystal they each pulled from beneath their coats upon the ground at their feet as light magic rose from them and created a force field entrapping the Queen, Lady Macbeth, Hyde, Professor Moriarty, and Dorian Gray while Regina's double fired as much of her power against the light magic to break free.

"Next time you really ought to pay closer attention to your surroundings!" the real Regina stated smugly as she walked up to the trap with Zelena between the rest of her decoys, when they suddenly transformed back into Emma, August, David, Jekyll, the Blue Fairy, and Granny. "Is that not what you said to me last night? My sister asked you a question. Where are Henry and Violet?"

"How did you not see their plan?" Moriarty asked the Fate curtly.

Lady Macbeth lowered her hood revealing her blindness and decay to the heroes and responded, "Too many fates to read at once. Only the true Regina knew their full plan and hid away. I could not read her. The rest of the heroes only knew their own role."

When the Evil Queen paused in her efforts to break free, Emma moved around their prison so that she was facing the villain head on as she asked angrily, "Where are they? Not just my son and Violet, but Killian and Milady as well?"

"You won't be able to save him," Regina Two replied coolly. "Captain Hook I mean. It is too late for him. But I have one more ally who isn't here and if you want to save Henry and his girlfriend, you will need to open a portal to the Enchanted Forest for the pirate's father to pass through. You'll find them at the harbor near the Jolly Roger. Our ally has the Apprentice's wand and is waiting for my wicked sister to arrive to use it. If you don't, the children die. I don't care if Henry is my son or not."

"He will never be your son," Regina answered angrily, then each of the heroes disappeared to help their missing loved ones, leaving the villains alone within their imprisonment as the Evil Queen fired her dark magic against the light again in effort to break free.

At the harbor…

Emma suddenly appeared on the docks as she looked toward Killian's ship that was now out within the ocean in wait for the portal to appear, then turned around as Henry called out to her, "Mom!"

Another of the villains had the tip of the staff he held within his hand pointed at the back of her son's head as the two teenagers were both on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. Regina and the others all appeared seconds behind the Savior, as Regina started to rush toward Henry until Emma pulled her back.

Zelena glared at the villain looming over Henry and Violet as she stated, "And from your wardrobe and staff, which I assume is powerful, you must be the genie. Jafar, isn't it?"

"Then you know what I can do to these children," the man responded cruelly as he tossed Zelena the wand, then kept his eyes between Regina and the Savior. "Open the portal, or I will kill them. And I can do so before you try to use your own magic against me."

"And if we do, are your orders to release them or kill them anyway?" Regina asked angrily.

Henry replied quickly, "You can't do it! Mom, Killian is onboard his ship, along with Milady. If you open the portal, he'll disappear."

Emma looked out at the Jolly Roger as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, then turned to Zelena as she said, "Do it. Open the portal. Jafar won't kill them so long as we cooperate. He's speaking the truth."

"All right," the witch answered worryingly and then raised the wand to do as the Savior asked for her to.

When the portal opened, Jafar used his power to undo the bindings to free Henry and Violet, then disappeared while everyone watched as Brennan steered for the portal. But just before it disappeared from this world, a cloud of black smoke flew onto the ship and they knew the Queen had managed to escape. Without hesitation, Emma immediately vanished within her own cloud of white to go after Killian, as August swiftly grabbed her arm and disappeared with her.

"Don't worry, we'll all be back," Regina said quickly as she grabbed the wand from her sister and followed after her friends, just in time as the pirate ship dipped down into portal and began its journey back to the Enchanted Forest.


	17. Chapter 17

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Seventeen

When the ropes gave way and he and Violet were free again, Henry immediately ran down to the end of the dock just as the Jolly Roger disappeared into the magical portal leading to the Enchanted Forest, along with both of his mothers, Killian, and August too. Not only was he worried about his family, but he was mostly afraid that the Evil Queen and Milady de Winter had also managed to board the ship and were now going to do whatever they could to ensure that his family failed to save Killian from his father, then try to kill them as well.

Violet rushed down to stand beside him and gently put her hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him, knowing exactly how much he was worried for them, then David also walked up behind them and spoke up saying quietly, "They're all going to be alright, Henry. Your mothers can handle themselves against the Queen and anything else they might encounter."

Without turning around, the fifteen year old replied despondently, "I know. I've seen Mom defeat the evil inside of her several times before, so I know that she can do it again. She'll defeat her other self and return home as soon as the Evil Queen's gone. August can handle himself just fine. He always has. And Mom can defeat anything the Queen can throw at her because she's the Savior, except…"

"You're worried about what will happen to her if she can't save Hook this time," the Prince answered in understanding. "You're also worried about Hook."

"When we were in Gold's cabin, Killian broke through again and he protected me when Brennan tried to hit me for defying him," Henry responded in frustration and finally turned to look back at his grandfather. "For a few seconds I saw him and I saw that he no longer believes he can be saved. What if he's right? I already lost my dad and Killian's been here for me when I needed him. Don't get me wrong, you've been great, Grandpa. And it's fine having two moms I know love me. It's just…"

David smiled and then replied, "You can't lose a second father. Believe me, I know what you mean. I never knew my real father because he died before I was even born and then when I finally did get a father in my life, he turned out to be a villain who wanted to kill me because I couldn't be my brother, James. I'd do anything to have my father in my life. But listen, if you really want to help Hook and your moms, then we could use your help to defeat the rest of the Queen's allies. We entrapped most of them before we arrived here, but seeing as Regina Two was able to get free, they're no doubt free again as well."

Henry shrugged as he asked in confusion, "How can I help?"

"Exactly how much do you know about each of these villains?" the older man enquired curiously. "Are they anything close to their characters from their novels?"

Back inside the Charmings' loft…

"I didn't really get to know any of them while me and Violet were being held at Gold's cabin," Henry continued after he, Violet, David, Zelena, and Dr. Jekyll all returned from the harbor, while Mother Superior went back to the church and Granny went back to her diner. "I was more concerned about Brennan and the Evil Queen. But I can tell you who they are in their books. Dr. Jekyll can probably fill us in on the rest since he's one of them. A character from a classic, I mean. Not a villain."

Jekyll nodded and said, "I knew what you meant. And I will certainly help you any way that I can. Though I confess, I do not know much about a few of them."

Snow White handed Neal over to her husband so he could hold the boy and then she answered, "That's okay. All we need is just as much information as we can get. They're all still protected by Hyde's force field, or cloaking spell, or whatever that is surrounding the cabin. So if we can learn how to lure them out of it like before with the knowledge we learn about them, then we can make Storybrooke safe again for when our daughter, Killian, Regina, and August return home."

"Snow's right," David responded, while Zelena settled down on the couch next to him and the Princess with her own daughter in her arms. "Let's start with Jafar. We know he's a powerful genie and another immortal like Dorian Gray is. But doctor, do you know any of his weaknesses?"

"I'm not sure," Jekyll replied ask he and Henry took a seat on the floor after they carried in the storybooks. "I know very little of him, other than that he is a genie and that he and Milady de Winter have created an alliance with one another."

Henry quickly searched through the pages of one of the books that he vaguely remembered catching a glimpse of the genie's story in and when he found it he answered, "He was a powerful sorcerer before he was ever a genie. He was tricked into becoming one. His story doesn't say how to defeat him for good, but maybe there is someone here in town who can help us with that, if he's even still here."

When the teenager raised the book to show his grandparents and the others one of its pages, Snow stated with surprise, "Will Scarlet helped to defeat Jafar once before?"

"It looks like it," Zelena responded as she looked down at Baby Robin in her arms after she looked at the page for a moment. "Who is Will Scarlet?"

"He's a petty thief who's been in one of our jail cells on more than one occasion," Snow replied. "He dated Belle for a time, until she broke it off with him to go back with Gold."

Zelena chortled, then spoke again saying callously, "What a pity. That girl certainly has poor taste, doesn't she? First the Dark One, then a thief, and then the Dark One again."

Everyone ignored the woman's jibe against their friend and then Henry continued, "It looks like he was in Wonderland when they defeated Jafar, whose lamp somehow ended up the Land of Untold Stories afterward. Maybe Will might be able to give us an idea about his weakness to draw him out, but at least we do know his alliance with Milady has changed now since she went with Brennan to the Enchanted Forest."

"Even if we do draw him out, how do we defeat him this time?" Jekyll asked. "He's already a genie."

"Perhaps that's how we do it," Henry answered when an idea came to him. "A genie is imprisoned to his lamp. If we can get that while he's distracted, then we gain complete control over him, just like the Dark One dagger controls Rumpelstiltskin. We need to find the lamp."

David smiled as she responded, "Good job, Henry. All right, we know about Milady de Winter, Jafar, and Dorian Gray. There were two others with the Queen at the bridge, other than Hyde, whom we didn't recognize."

Violet looked over at Henry, then turned to the others as she asked, "Was there a man with a strange accent, a beard and mustache, and wearing a suit? Or a blind woman who wore a dark cloak to cover her decaying skin?"

"Yes, that's exactly who they were," Zelena replied as she laid her child inside the crib beside Snow's and David's son when Neal was laid down to sleep as well. "Did they happen to reveal who they were?"

"They never said," the fourteen year old girl answered in frustration. "And I've only just started reading the books that Henry's lent me to read. But the woman does have the ability to see a person's past, present, and future. Like Merlin could, except that she's evil. She didn't have to speak much for me to get a sense of fear when she was around."

Henry added, "She's a Fate of the Underworld. I saw her pull out the witches' eye I've seen in some of my Greek mythology books. It glowed. The strange thing is, there are supposed to be three Fates. Maybe she betrayed them. Whoever she is, if you want to defeat a Fate, you have to steal the eye, but then whoever does, becomes a Fate themselves and would end up as cursed as she is."

Charming nodded, then responded, "It sounds like we just might have to imprison her somehow, though how to do that without her seeing what we're planning will be difficult. We probably should figure out how to deal with her first, so that she won't be able to help the others to evade us."

"And what about the last villain?" Zelena asked again. "The one Violet says spoke with a strange accent?"

"I'm pretty sure he's Moriarty," Henry replied smugly, proud of his knowledge of the classics and other stories. "I heard him mention the word Reichenbach. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels, Sherlock defeated Moriarty as they both fell over the Reichenbach Falls to their deaths, though Sherlock actually faked his death and eventually returned in more novels."

Snow looked down at the two teenagers as she said, "Nice, but Moriarty is hardly powerful. He's a mastermind, yes. But what reason would the Evil Queen have to align herself with a man with no power or skills other than being cunning?"

The Author answered, "That I couldn't tell you. It's possible that the real Moriarty has a secret gift. Either that, or maybe he's just one of the only other villains to have agreed to work for her looking for more power."

"It's as good a speculation as any," Jekyll stated.

"It sounds to me like we know who we're facing," Snow responded confidently. "Thank you, Dr. Jekyll. And way to go Henry and Violet!"


	18. Chapter 18

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Eighteen

In Killian's past…

After weeks of endless slaving onboard Silver's ship, few hours of sleep, and eating what little food was given to him still, Killian and Liam were both granted one day of freedom from their servitude, thanks to Liam's hard work and his efforts to keep his younger brother's temper under control. However, it wasn't out of the Captain's kind heart that this liberty was given, as good wasn't in the man's nature, but because he and his crew all had business matters to attend to, matters that Silver didn't want his two servants to be anywhere around for.

When Liam walked down into the brig, which had long since become the brothers' quarters because of the younger's inability to stay out of trouble, the twenty year old found Killian weakly changing his filthy, blood stained shirt, while a fatigued and disdained guise adorned his face.

After he finished, Killian remained silent as he searched through what little of the possessions he had for the few coins he had earned over the last week while he kept his back to his older brother and when it was clear that he had no intention of talking first, Liam spoke quietly asking, "So, why aren't you more enthusiastic to finally be free for a day from having to work or getting beaten by the men?"

The sixteen year old glared at him for a moment and then started up the stairs to leave the room as he answered sternly, "It's not that I'm not glad to be off of this bloody ship. Believe me I am, but something's wrong. Silver wouldn't let us have a day of rest or pleasure, without there being a hidden motive."

"Just be happy for what good you're given, Killian," his brother responded and he patted the boy's shoulder, then walked out onto the deck ahead of him to leave the ship as if to prove that no pirates were going to jump out at them to drag them both back onboard, or anything worse. "We finally have a day to eat, drink, and be merry with the barmaids working in this port's many taverns."

"I'm not much in the mood for anything, but rest," the younger Jones replied wearily. "I haven't slept for more than a few hours in the last several weeks. And a night without worrying about getting dragged up on deck to be flogged or nearly drowned does sound good. Maybe you're right, brother."

Liam smiled and then answered, "You're always too skeptical. Come on, let's head to the closest tavern. You can get some sleep, while I introduce myself to the ladies. After Rosalie, I need a woman to take my mind off of her. I've also got more money than you."

Killian laughed softly, then he responded, "Forgive me for saying so, but I prefer to find the right woman and not just a barmaid or another man's wife and girlfriend every night."

"You're only sixteen," the older brother replied mockingly when they arrived outside of the first tavern they came across. "And you're a romantic."

Noon came and went and not long before the next hour, Killian stepped out from the room he had paid for after trying to catch a few hours of sleep, then searched the large room below for sign of his brother and found him sitting at one of the gambling tables with a beautiful woman with long, flowing red hair sitting on his lap.

"Brother!" Liam called out upon seeing him starting down the stairs and then walk toward him as one of the working girls stepped in his way to flirt. "Join me. I've won us twelve pieces of silver in a few games and I'm feeling generous, so half of it is yours."

The sixteen year old immediately pushed the barmaid off of him when she tried to sit down on his own lap after he took a seat across from his brother, while Liam leaned forward as he whispered, "You look like hell, Killian. Did you sleep at all?"

When Killian looked away sadly as he turned his head to watch the musicians playing their instruments in the far corner of the tavern, Liam motioned for the woman with him to give him some time to speak with his brother alone, then handed him a loaf of bread as well as a small glass of rum and asked worryingly, "I ordered some meat just before you came down and I can get us some more ale and bread. There's plenty. You really need to eat. You dreamt of Father again, didn't you? Or was it the other dream?"

 _Hours after he had fallen asleep, ten year old Killian Jones awakened and found that his father was no longer in the small quarters onboard the ship they were sailing on, then started to panic while he ran over to his older brother, Liam, who was asleep on the cot beside him, as Killian cried out fearfully, "Liam? Liam, wake up! Father's gone!"_

 _When he is unsuccessful in rousing his brother, Killian finally ran over to the door to open it, only to bump into a man who enters the cabin as he asked, "Are you looking for your father?"_

 _"Look out there," the man continued, forcing the young boy back into the room by sauntering toward him as he pointed out toward the ocean over his shoulder. "He rowed away an hour ago."_

 _"Rowed away?" Killian asked with confusion. "Why?"_

 _"Your father ain't what you think," the pirate answered as he shoved Killian down onto his bed behind him, then also took a seat beside him as well. "He's a thief, a fugitive from the law. He heard there were soldiers waiting at the next port, so he bought my old rowboat... and left."_

 _The boy still didn't understand as he asked more angrily, "Why would he leave us?"_

 _The man responded cruelly, "How do you think he paid for the boat? He traded you and your brother into my service."_

 _"No!" Killian shouted in disbelief, refusing to believe that his father could do as this man had said he had done. "No, he wouldn't do that!"_

 _The pirate stood as he replied sternly, "Now you know what kind of man your father really is."_

Killian closed his eyes and shook his head to try to get rid of the memory that plagued him, then finally answered his brother, "It doesn't matter. I'm fine. I got more sleep than I've gotten in months. How much money did you say you won?"

Liam was about to respond until all of a sudden, a few of the tavern's other patrons casually walked up behind both of the brothers and began to heckle the youngest as one of the men said, "You're a little young to be in a place like this, aren't you, boy?"

"I'm sixteen," Killian stated curtly, as he turned his head to glare at the aggressor now standing over him. "And this is hardly the first tavern I've been in."

"You've had a hard life, have you?" another of the men responded as he and the rest of the men sat down at the table beside him and Liam, filling up the table while two barmaids came over and set down several pints of ale before them. "From the look of your tattered clothes and the scars I can see through the tears in your shirt… You're a slave of one of the ship captains who have entered into our port. Don't try to deny it, boy. I've seen the same look of anger on your face right now, on many other slaves passing through here. What happened? Did your parents realize that you're a scrawny whelp not worth being born?"

Liam quickly intervened by grabbing hold of the younger man to hold him down when Killian attempted to lash out at the strangers, then replied, "You're right, my brother and I are in service to Captain Silver of the Silver Doubloon. He and the rest of the crew are somewhere here in town on business. If you would like to see our papers…"

The man who appeared to be in charge of the rest finally stepped forward as he interrupted, "That won't be necessary. I've heard of your Captain. If you say that you're a couple of his slaves, I believe you. Most men wouldn't be so honest about such a livelihood. However, I fear you won't be returning to him. At least not both of you."

"What are talking about?" the older Jones asked nervously, looking at Killian for a couple of seconds before turning back to the men's leader again. "Neither my brother or I are for sale, especially to you."

"We have no need for slaves," another of them answered as two of the others reached out to take the money Liam had won gambling, while the man in charge immediately grabbed Killian and forced a dagger to his throat.

He stared at the twenty year old as he continued, "We just want your money. Hand it all over and I will spare your life."

Liam kept his eyes between his brother and the man threatening him upon realizing that he intended to kill Killian no matter what he did, then he responded in frustration, "The money you've already taken isn't all I have. If you really want all that I have, you have to let go of my brother."

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that," the stranger replied when he suddenly raised the blade away from the teenager's throat as he was about to strike until Killian suddenly spun around within the man's grasp and kneed him as hard as he could in his groin, then knocked the dagger from his hand to get away.

Liam charged the man to help Killian and then together they fought against as many of the men as they could when the rest attacked to defend their friend. The rest of the patrons and tavern workers hid or ran outside as the fight began, so the two brothers were on their own against the four thieves surrounding them.

They were holding their own against them all right until Killian saw one of the men raise a knife at Liam's back and immediately charged at the man before he could kill his brother. He struggled against the thief for possession of the blade and it only took a moment for the sixteen year old's rage to overcome him as he suddenly forced the weapon into the man's stomach, then spun around and charged at the men's leader, thrusting the blade through his chest while he screamed out in rage.

The older Jones quickly turned to his brother upon hearing him scream and watched in fear as his brother collapsed to his knees after he killed the man before him, then immediately rushed to help him, having forgotten about the others. When the remaining men saw that their leader was dead, they swiftly picked up their injured friend from the floor and ran from the tavern, leaving the two boys alone to deal with the fallout.

"Killian!" his brother cried out in fear as he pulled him close to calm him down, then finally noticed the blood that covered his face, hands, and clothes. "Killian, are you hurt?"

The younger man squeezed his eyes closed tightly while he struggled to get his anger back under control, then shook his head as he muttered shamefully, "No. No, I don't… don't think so. Liam… What have I done?"

Liam felt his brother's body trembling against him, but soon he realized it wasn't only from the rage that had overpowered the younger man as he swiftly tore away the shirt his brother was wearing and saw through the blood that Killian had also been injured pretty badly, finding a large gash across his chest.

The twenty year old pulled him up and held him close while they struggled to make their way back to their ship as he whispered sadly, "You saved my life, little brother. That's all you need to worry about. You saved my life."


	19. Chapter 19

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Nineteen

"Somebody help me!" Liam cried out fearfully when he finally arrived back at their ship that was tied up to one of the town's ports, dragging Killian along with him while his brother continued to grow heavier and weaker within his arms. "Please, he's hurt!"

"What happened, son?" Silver asked coldly as he rose from the barrel on which he sat surrounded by a few of his men, none of which moved to help the brothers when they struggled to make their way onboard. "Did his temper finally get him killed?"

Liam kept a tight hold on Killian while he glared at the Captain, who swiftly stepped in his way when he tried to make his way down to their quarters so he could care for the younger Jones, then responded with anger, "It wasn't his fault. We were attacked. Four men robbed us of what little money we had, then threatened to kill my brother. We fought them off until one of the men nearly killed me, but Killian saved my life and was injured doing so."

Boris, Captain Silver's first mate, laughed and then asked cruelly, "And how did he do that? Did he kill one of your assailants to save you? Did he finally become a man?"

"No, Killian only shouted a warning," Liam answered firmly to protect his brother from any fallout that might come from the thief's death, whether it be from Silver's wrath or from the remaining attackers should they come seeking revenge. "I killed their leader before he could kill me. I need fresh water and clean bandages, please!"

"You have what you need down in the brig already," another of the men sneered. "They might be worn and ragged, but they'll do just fine for the likes of your filthy brother."

Captain Silver chortled and then roughly grabbed Killian by his hair on the back of his head, causing him to cry out until Liam immediately struggled against the man to get him to release his brother when the sixteen year old collapsed as he lost consciousness. The older Jones quickly pulled Killian into his arms again, then carried him down the stairs into the brig while Silver, Boris, and the rest of the pirates all laughed and finally reconvened with their earlier business at hand.

It wasn't long before Killian slowly awoke again to his older brother's ministrations as he turned his head and whispered weakly, "I'm sor… sorry."

Liam shook his head as he finished tying the last bandage around Killian's chest and gently began to wipe their attackers' blood off of his face, then he replied worryingly, "Don't apologize. You don't have anything to be sorry for, Killian. You didn't… You didn't do anything wrong."

"I kill… killed him," Killian stated fearfully. "I killed a man. I didn't… want to. But…"

"He gave you no choice, little brother," the twenty year old responded with resolution as he grasped the younger boy's hand in his own and looked into his eyes, letting a tear escape down his cheek. "You saved my life. I'd be dead if it weren't for your courage. There's no one I trust more with my life than you. You're going to be alright. Sore for awhile. And weak too, but alright."

Killian struggled to sit up despite Liam's efforts to keep him down, then he looked around to find that they had made it back to their ship and spoke again saying, "Captain Silver, I take it he knows? I mean, did you… I can't remember much after we left the tavern, except…"

While the older man continued to wipe the blood away, realizing that Killian vaguely remembered Silver's own assault and the men's cruelty toward him, he nodded and then so that no one else could hear him he whispered, "He knows about the thieves' attack and he knows that one of them are dead, but he doesn't know you were the one who killed him. He thinks I did it. If there's any trouble…"

"You shouldn't have done that!" Killian answered angrily, then immediately quieted his voice down again to keep the men above deck from overhearing them. "You can't keep protecting me, Liam. One day, I'm only going to get you killed."

"You're wrong, brother," Liam replied sadly. "You and me are both going to live a good long time and soon it will be as free men like I've told you many times before. Our names will be remembered forever. I have no doubt of that."

Late into the night…

The remaining three men who had tried to kill the two brothers in the tavern earlier that afternoon were walking through the streets making their way from the home of an old healer they had gone to seeking help for their injured friend. The woman completed her work and they paid her the money they had stolen from the boys for her services, then they left to return to a shelter in the outskirts of the village where they could hide from the law that might or might not come to arrest them.

However, it wasn't the law who came in search for them first. When the assailants arrived, before they could light the oil lamps, a man's voice sounded from within the darkness as he muttered words that were barely audible. Two of the men, the third still being too weak to fight anyone, immediately raised their weapons they carried and aimed them in the direction of their threat.

The stranger laughed and then said more loudly, "Relax, gentlemen. I only wish to reconvene our dealings that began this morning."

One of the men, who appeared to have made himself the new leader of the troupe since their friend was killed, lowered his pistol and placed it back into his belt and responded, "We weren't expecting to see you again. Things didn't exactly go as planned."

"I know," the first arrival answered as he stood from the chair he was sitting on and lit one of the lamps himself to bring light into the room, then glared at the men before him. "You failed. I gave you each ten pieces of silver and you couldn't kill the whelp I hired you to kill. In fact, you got your own friend killed instead."

"Those boys were tougher than you said they'd be, Silver," one of the other thieves replied angrily. "Especially the younger slave. He was the one who killed our friend. Why did you hire us? You're a pirate. Why not just toss him overboard and be done with him?"

The Captain turned his back to the men as he raised his hand to the hilt of his sword and responded, "I would lose the older one's commitment to serve me without complaint. If I killed him, the brother would fight me until I would have to kill him too. By hiring you, Liam would have believed it was a mugging gone wrong and he wouldn't have had reason to suspect I had anything to do with the boy's death. But you failed me and now I have to figure out something else."

The new leader stepped closer to the pirate as he answered, "No, we can finish the task."

"I'm afraid we're leaving tonight," Silver replied as he suddenly spun around and thrust his blade into the man's stomach, then did the same to the second man who attempted to attack him.

"No, please don't!" the injured thief pleaded before the pirate swiftly killed him too, then left the three thieves dead as he snuffed out the light and disappeared in silence without turning back.


	20. Chapter 20

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty

"Your Majesty?" Brennan stated in shock as the Evil Queen appeared in her cloud of black smoke onboard the deck behind him and the assassin who eagerly accepted to join the pirate's father on his search, after they passed through the treacherous portal and came out within the waters surrounding the Enchanted Forest. "I didn't realize you would be coming along with us. I didn't expect…"

"Yes, well I didn't expect things to work out as they have," Regina Two replied angrily as she walked around and used her magic to take over steering the ship for them in the direction of her castle. "But I know that the Savior wouldn't have allowed you to get away so easily in the body of the man she loves, nor would my double allow me to have gotten away either. I made sure that they saw me board this ship. They'll both come after us, if they haven't done so already."

Brennan stood away from the wheel as it began to control itself and walked over to the starboard side to look out over the ocean as he responded sternly, "I won't be going with you to your castle, Your Majesty. There is nothing there that will help me to find my son. Only Killian can help me do that."

Milady added, "And my place is with him. You certainly didn't care that I left from your service before?"

"I won't stop you, but I suggest you move quickly," the Queen answered them both. "Use both your own and the pirate's knowledge to find the youngest Jones and then disappear. The Savior doesn't have knowledge of this world. You do. And you also have Hook to use against her when she does come for him. You have the advantage over her for now, but she has magic on her side. If once you find the boy and wish to have my protection, then I offer it to you. In exchange, you must swear your allegiance to me and only me. Become the Captain of my new Black Knights once they are formed again. What do you say, Captain Jones?"

"That's what this has always been about, hasn't it?" Brennan replied as he turned his head to look back at her. "You always planned on giving me what I wanted so that I would become obligated to serve you the rest of my days."

The evil woman smiled as she responded smugly, "If Captain Hook wasn't so treacherous and untrustworthy back when he was ruthless and cruel, then he would have made the perfect Captain of my guards. Now I can have him in my services at last, along with your loyalty."

He looked over at Milady, then back to Regina's dark side as he asked, "And what of Neverland? Killian cheated death for centuries seeking revenge on a crocodile and stole my life from me. I wish to live with my Liam for far more than what my life would be should I stay here, to make up for my middle son's sins. With Milady de Winter at my side, if that is what she wishes."

"I already live an immortal life," the assassin answered as she reached out to take Brennan's hand, and therefore Hook's hand, in her own and stood beside him. "Whether you live your life as the Captain of the Queen's Black Knights, or in Neverland as the ruthless pirate your son once was before he went soft, let go of Brennan Jones and become Captain Hook. Then, I will remain with you."

"Work for me as the pirate your son was, and I will make you as immortal as this vile woman you've chosen has become," Regina Two replied haughtily. "And Liam too once you find him. It is a rare use of dark magic, but not impossible."

Brennan finally responded, "Very well, to Queen Regina I pledge my allegiance to, once I find my son of course."

Down below deck…

Emma and August both suddenly appeared in her cloud of white within the brig of Killian's most valuable possession the moment the Jolly Roger entered into the portal and upon doing so, she glared at her closest friend as she asked curtly, "Why the hell did you grab onto me? You shouldn't be here. This is my fight, not yours!"

"You're not alone in this," he answered quietly while he pulled Emma down to floor so that they were crouching as if to hide from any one of the villains that might come down. "You're my best friend, Emma. And that makes Hook my best friend too because you love each other so much. I would like to get to know him, but I won't be able to do that if we don't save him. Besides, I've sat on the sidelines too long. I may have been a puppet and then a child twice in my life, but now that I'm a man again and made of flesh and blood instead of the wood I was made from, I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not. That is what heroes do, right? I think it's about time that I join the rest of you."

"Fine, but I need you to stay close and don't do anything stupid to get yourself killed," Emma replied softly in frustration as well as worry for his safety while she looked into his eyes. "I don't want to have to go home and explain to Marco, Geppetto, why his son had to die when he fought to help me fix my mistakes."

August embraced her in a hug to try to comfort her as he responded, "Don't worry. You won't have to. I may not be a skilled fighter, or possess magic like you and Hook, but I can take care of myself."

It was then that Regina appear in her own purple smoke as she spoke up whispering coldly, "It's amazing that my other self and the other two on deck haven't come down here to lock you both inside of these cells, or to kill you yet. I've put up a cloaking spell to hide us for now, but I suggest you both keep your voices down a bit more, would you? Otherwise it won't be long before they do discover we're onboard."

"Regina," Emma said in surprise, though she had seen the Evil Queen board the ship before either of them did. "I'm certainly glad you made it."

"I wasn't about to let my dark side escape without coming after her," she answered with anger. "I can't let the Evil Queen hurt anyone because of my mistake in unleashing her."

Emma looked into the other woman's eyes and saw there was something more she wasn't saying, then asked quietly, "That's not really all, is it? There's another reason why you've come after us."

Regina looked away in shame as she replied, "You didn't make any mistakes in regards to Hook this time, Emma. The mistake is mine. I used his hate and anger against his father and Rumpelstiltskin so that I could see how far I could push him. And I got him to take his father's life. I owe it to Killian to make this right if I can, to help save him if it's possible to do so."

"Thank you, Regina," the Savior responded sincerely. "I mean it. And for what it's worth, Killian's forgiven you. He understands the darkness that was once a part of you better than any of the rest of us, including me. We've all forgiven you for everything you did when your dark side was a part of you. You're not her."

"I appreciate that," she answered. "Now, it's time we come up with a plan to save our friend and destroy the others. It's going to be a hell of a tough battle."


	21. Chapter 21

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-One

Emma slowly began to pace back and forth while silence filled the room after they struggled to come up with some kind of plan. As much as she wanted to, Emma knew she couldn't just charge onto the ship's deck and attack the Queen or Milady, and especially not Brennan, fearing that she would hurt Killian even more so than his father inside of him. While Regina had the same powers as her other self, she was worried that the Evil Queen was currently stronger than she was because Regina still struggled to come to terms with herself, even if she was free of her dark side.

Emma looked down at the other woman with her and August as she asked, "You said that the Queen is expecting us?"

Regina, who was leaning up against one of the walls behind her, nodded as she answered, "Yes. When I first came onboard, I hid within whatever the lookout bucket above one of the masts is called."

"The crow's nest you mean?" Emma stated to correct her.

"Look at who's been learning more about the pirate's ship," the Mayor replied in surprise.

The Savior smiled and responded sadly, "Killian's taught me a lot, about his ship, about the oceans, and how to navigate by the stars like he's done for Henry. We've talked about taking the Jolly Roger for a long vacation someday."

August smiled, then spoke up saying, "That sounds wonderful. You should definitely go once this mess is all over, and not worry about the trouble that might come after."

"We're not talking about that right now," Emma answered curtly to bring their thoughts back to the task at hand. "You were saying, Regina?"

"I was saying that I overheard them talking about travelling to my castle," she replied as August sat down upon the stool that sat in the corner of the room and listened while the women continued talking. "At least that's where I'm heading, after myself. Jones and Milady are going off in search of the younger Liam before they join the Queen there under her protection. My other self didn't object. In fact, she encouraged him to leave so long as he returned to her after he finds the boy and then agreed to becoming the new Captain of her Black Knights. She wants Brennan to take on his name, Emma. Captain Hook I mean. And all the good Hook's done will no longer be remembered if his father succeeds. So, you and August need to go after him and the infamous assassin once they leave this ship. As soon as I deal with Regina Two, I'll come and find you so that I can help you to free Hook somehow. The book the binding link was in… It's possible it wasn't among the many books I suspect disappeared when Zelena took our home over for awhile, but I won't know for sure unless I look at the books that are left more closely."

The Savior shook her head as she responded, "No, we can't split up. If we have any hope of getting Killian back and of getting home, we need to stick together when we take down the Queen, Brennan, and Milady de Winter. She'll expect us to split up. It's why she didn't object to Brennan leaving to go find his son."

August nodded in agreement and answered, "Emma's right. It will be better for all of us."

"The ship's stopped moving," Emma said suddenly upon realizing that the waves were no longer rocking the Jolly Roger as it had been while out in the open seas. "We've docked."

"We were in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight," Regina replied sternly as she swiftly left the brig before Emma or August could object and when they all arrived on the deck, the ship was indeed run aground on an unknown coast on the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest.

When they saw that there was no one in sight, Emma asked fearfully, "Where the hell are they? Regina, how is this even possible? Have you always had the ability to transport an entire ship?"

She responded in frustration, "Apparently so. Or she must have increased the wind to make this damn boat sail faster. She's obviously in a hurry, but I have no idea where we even are. I don't recognize this part of the Forest."

"They're gone!" the Savior continued to rant on angrily. "How are we going to find Killian now?"

August responded quickly, "Don't worry, we'll find him, Emma. Regina's evil counterpart is going back to her castle. We can head there and find a way to defeat her first."

Regina looked between her friends and then shook her head as she answered, "No. We know where the Evil Queen is going. And it will take her time to get settled back into this world. Believe me, I know. We need to find Hook first and even though we don't know how to expel Brennan from his body yet, we can find some way to stop him. Hook needs our help."

"Where do we even begin?" Emma asked curtly. "This ship is the only place I know that meant anything to Killian. Though we aren't looking for Killian."

"We're looking for his father and Liam," Regina replied. "And I think I know just where we can begin."

Meanwhile…

A young man sat in silence at a table inside a small cottage deep within the Enchanted Forest, at the foot of the Forbidden Mountain where he was eating porridge and stale bread made for him by the poor woman who took him into her home long ago along with her husband until he had died a few years later. The woman of the household stood over the fire to stoke it, then turned to the teenager sitting behind her, but she didn't say anything, afraid to break him from his thoughts.

He finally looked up at the woman and saw the worry on her face as he asked, "Is there something wrong, Gael? If you're worried about this meal being… You are eating, aren't you?"

She smiled as she turned to dish herself up her own helping of the meal, ripped of a small piece of bread from the loaf she had made two days ago, then sat down at the table beside him and responded, "Of course I am. We may not have much, but there is certainly enough food here so that we don't ever have to go to bed hungry. So eat up. Are you going out to meet up with your friends tonight? You're not going to cause trouble again, are you?"

"I'm only doing what my father, mother, and your husband would have wanted me to do," the young man answered sternly. "I'm working for men who will help me to find answers, so that I can find him."

"The man who killed your father, you mean?" the woman asked again fearfully. "Your father was a good man, Liam. He loved my daughter very much and you even more so. He wouldn't have wanted you to waste your life searching for a man who is nothing more than rumors and tall tales. He wouldn't want you to risk your life fighting against a villainous pirate if these rumors of his cruelty are real. Brennan was killed over thirty years ago."

Liam pounded his fist against the table, then stood up as he retorted angrily, "It may have been thirty years ago, but the Queen's curse made it seem as though it were more like three. Three years that feels like it was only yesterday when I found my father's body on the ground with a stab wound to his chest. All I knew then was that a pirate killed him after he promised my father safe passage out of the Enchanted Forest. Thanks to working in taverns and for remaining knights and guards who once served people like the Evil Queen, King George, and King Midas, I've finally discovered the identity of the pirate who killed him, despite the numerous rumors and false tales about this Captain Hook. Now I just need to find him. And I will, so that I can kill him."

She shook her head sadly as she replied, "Your father would want you to live your life and not seek revenge."

"I was only thirteen years old when he died, Gael," the boy responded as he stood up to leave the cottage, not caring that he hadn't finished supper. "My father should have lived to help me to become a man. But instead I had to become a man that night and now that I'm sixteen and have killed ogres, thieves, and other pirates to prepare myself, I am strong enough to avenge him and kill the one pirate who took him from me. Don't wait up for me. I'll be home late."

"I am so sorry, Brennan," the woman whispered sadly. "I tried to raise him without hate. I wanted him to have the life that you and my daughter deserved to live. I even tried to find a way to give your boy what he wanted, a magical way to rid this world of Captain Hook, so that Liam would not grow to be a man I fear will die when he finds this pirate who killed you, but I failed. Please, if there is any mercy, I pray that you and Charlotte send someone who can help to save your child."


	22. Chapter 22

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Two

"So, how do you know about my son and the kind of man he was before he met the Savior?" Brennan asked Milady curtly after they had been walking through the forest in silence for nearly an hour, despite the assassin's attempt to get him to talk to her. "You seem to know an awful lot about Captain Hook for a woman who comes from two different worlds."

"The Queen told us about him before you arrived, at our camp in the woods," she responded quietly. "She told us you would be arriving as two men within one body of a once ruthless pirate who had grown weak. I read his story from one of the storybooks Hyde had gotten from Rumpelstiltskin. Apparently, the beast had copies of all the heroes' stories on hand. I wanted to know exactly who it was I would be working with and I must say, I was very impressed. Though, I didn't expect him… you to be so handsome. I'm glad to see you've chosen to dress as he did. Black leather looks much better on you than those other clothes of that strange world."

The oldest Jones looked over at the woman cynically and replied, "His leather duster and old clothes are all I had available to me. They were onboard his ship. Who, or what is it that you're more attracted to? Killian's good looks and past deeds, or my mind and enthusiasm to conquer my own son in order to make him suffer for all the pain he's caused me?"

Milady de Winter smiled and then answered, "Would it really be so wrong if I told you I was attracted to both? Do not fret, Brennan. I am here to be with you, but with all of the pirate's memories, knowledge, and your strength, you can find your youngest child, then restore the reputation that Captain Hook once had and become far more powerful than your son could have ever hoped to be. And you have both mine and the Evil Queen's support. If you hope to make Killian suffer, this is the perfect way to do it."

"It appears that you're right," Brennan responded smugly upon feeling his middle son fighting to break his way back to the surface once more, making him feel faint as he stopped walking and fell back against a tree while he put his hand to his head to help with the pain. "If you don't mind, Milady… I could use a few minutes alone to speak with my son."

"Of course," she stated seductively, leaning her body heavily against his and kissed him with heated passion while she lowered her hand beneath his pants line as if to help draw him to her side, then finally released him. "That's only a taste of what's to come if you choose to accept the man you are meant to become, Brennan. I won't be far. Don't take too long."

"I won't," he replied as the woman slowly walked on ahead so he could be alone as he asked to be, then spoke aloud to his son inside his mind. "She really is something."

Killian answered sadly, " _She's a vile assassin who is only using you for more power. She doesn't care about you._ "

His father chuckled and then responded, "I know. However, I can't help, but admire her for it. And she is beautiful. Maybe not quite as beautiful as your Savior, but I doubt she would love me even though you are still a part of me. Perhaps if given time and practice in becoming you, I might have been able to convince her that you were stronger than I was and that I was you once again, but…"

" _Don't you dare speak about Emma,_ " Killian replied with anger. " _She would have never fallen for your lies. And just because this link binds you to me and makes you stronger, you will never be me. Captain Hook will never be reborn because Emma will stop you, even if we both have to die._ "

"She'll never be able to find me," Brennan answered coldly until he suddenly doubled over when the anguish in his head increased and caused him and Killian both to cry out. "Is this pain really worth you keeping up this fight?"

His son spoke up again saying without wavering, " _I told you, Father… I will never stop fighting you. I may have lost hope that I will ever be free again to live my life with Emma, her family, and our friends, but I am not going to make it easier for you to destroy me with every foul deed that you, Milady, and the Evil Queen will commit while in my body._ "

Killian's father responded cruelly, "And just like I told you, Killian… In time, you won't be strong enough to keep fighting against me. Even if the Savior has come for you as the Queen believes she has, the woman you love won't know where to begin her search for you. You never even told her that you left a child to fend for himself after you murdered me. Maybe one day rumors will reach her ears of your next great exploits, or a new story about Captain Hook will appear within those storybooks of theirs, but by then she'll have forgotten about you, or will have given up hope that she'll be able to save you. Now, I've heard enough of your grumbling and threats. Tell me about what you learned of Liam's whereabouts after you left him alone to find my dead body. Or do I have to dig around your memories again and strengthen the pounding headache you're giving us both with your exasperating bravado?"

" _I sent one of my crewmen to keep his eyes on the boy after I learned he had entered the tavern where I found you working that night, covered in blood and in shock upon finding you dead,_ " he replied despondently. " _Liam was taken care of by those who knew you until the mother and father of your second wife arrived at the port to take him home with them. We'll find your third son at their place, at the foot of the Forbidden Mountain. Don't worry. That witch, Maleficent, is no longer living within her castle. She in fact lives in Storybrooke along with her daughter._ "

"It's been more than thirty years since I died," Brennan said again worryingly. "He'll be a man by now."

Killian answered quietly, " _A man yes, but only a man sixteen years of age. The Evil Queen's curse kept most of those from Storybrooke and others from here in this forest from aging for twenty-eight years. Only three years will have passed for Liam._ "

The oldest Jones asked once more, "Did you ever go back, to see him with your own eyes? Or were you too much of a coward to see your good work?"

" _Word of who killed you would have spread,_ " his son responded in frustration. " _It wasn't fear that kept me from returning, but business. I went to find me the Crocodile. I couldn't risk getting myself caught._ "

"Yes, Rumpelstiltskin," Brennan replied curtly. "The villain who you eventually lost your thirst to kill because of your Savior. Is she a better lover than Milah? Tell me, Killian. Did it ever bother you that you not only ruined the life of your own family, but the lives of another family as well when you stole young Baelfire's mother away, then got her killed and turned his father into your Crocodile?"

Guilt washed over Killian, and therefore Brennan too as the thoughts of Milah, Neal, and the man Gold had once been before he had become Rumpelstiltskin, suddenly plagued his memories. Killian knew he was to blame for all of it and didn't need his father to remind him, so he finally fell silent to indicate to him that he was finished speaking. That was when the pain in his head lessened and Brennan got back to his feet, then continued walking through the woods in search for Milady.

When he found her, she was sitting within a clearing and working to start a fire where they would be able to set up camp for the night and find themselves something to eat, then she looked up upon his approach and stated, "There you are. I was beginning to worry that you might have left me. I'm glad that you're still here. Did your son give you the information you were looking for?"

Brennan smiled as he sat down on the ground beside her, reached out to stop her from continuing her task and leaned in close to kiss her, then he answered quietly, "He told me everything. Now, how about we continue what you began earlier? Except this time, I want more than just a passionate kiss. Give me a reason to love you."

She smiled and positioned her body over his own as Brennan laid back against the ground, then kissed him while she gently began to roam her hands over his chest beneath his shirt until she suddenly ripped it open and helped him to pull his arms free from the torn cloth as well as from his leather jacket. She stopped kissing his lips and looked over his bare chest with a smile on her face, then turned to his hook over his left arm and swiftly pulled it away. She continued with what was left of his clothes until they were torn off and finally proceeded to do the same with her own. When finished, Brennan smiled at her as he reached up and pulled her down over him once more.

The torment within his mind burned hotter than ever before as Killian struggled to regain control over his body that was now betraying him, but Milady's passion and his father's strength was too much for him to fight any longer and was therefore forced to endure the anguish and shame while they made love within the dark and the trees of the forest that surrounded them.


	23. Chapter 23

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Three

Back in Storybrooke…

After Violet had gone home to reassure her father that she was okay, Henry sat at the table within his grandparents' loft as he stared down at the blank pages of one of the many storybooks he had brought back from New York now lying open before him. Lying beside the book was his quill and ink, which the Author reached over to pick up while he continued to sit in silence until David and Snow walked over and sat down beside him, noticing the reluctance and worry on the fifteen year old's face.

Snow spoke first saying quietly, "You know, if you're really worried about using the quill for anything other than just recording our stories, you don't have to. In fact, it's probably better that you don't."

David nodded in agreement and then replied, "You've got to make this decision for yourself and whatever you decide, we'll support. And so would both of your mothers."

"I want to help them, and Killian too," the teenager answered in frustration. "I want to help us all defeat these villains and using the quill and ink might be the only way I can do that. I mean, we know that at least three of these villains have a weakness because they're bound to a certain object that makes them who, or what they are. Jafar is bound to his lamp and if Milady didn't take it, and therefore him with her, then we should be able to find it so that we can imprison him that way. Dorian Gray is bound to his painting, which I'm positive he's got so well protected, that finding it without assistance will be impossible. And then there's the Fate with the villains, whoever she is. She's bound to the eye, which we can't touch without risking ourselves becoming cursed like she was."

"Using the quill to summon these objects to us would give us a huge advantage over these villains, especially since these three are the most powerful," Snow responded as she laid her arm around Henry's shoulders. "We'll be able to imprison them, then only have Hyde and Moriarty left to deal with."

The young man nodded, then replied, "Yes, but the Apprentice warned me against using the quill and ink for any kind of personal use. If I were to use them to do this, even if it is for the good of this town and to keep us safe, I'd become just like Isaac."

Charming smiled sadly and then answered, "Isaac used the quill to give himself and the villains everything they ever wanted, to try to take away our happy endings, and to try to make himself a hero. But he only succeeded in making himself a villain. I promise, you are nothing like him, Henry. Don't forget, you used it to save us all from Isaac's evil when we were all returned from his alternate reality. You brought both Hook and Regina back to life."

"Yeah, if you remember the last time I used the quill, I summoned the Olympian crystal shard away from Gold so that I could use it to destroy all magic, which I thought was the right choice too," Henry responded shamefully. "I thought that was for the greater good, but because of me, you guys, Killian, and Zelena were all almost trapped in Hyde's world and magic was almost destroyed, for good."

"You saved us again and brought magic back to the entire world, making everyone who was there that day believe in magic too, even if it was only for a moment," the Princess replied with resolution. "That is your real gift, Henry. You have the heart of the truest believer. And sometimes, it's okay to do more with your gift as Author, than just to record our history. Just so long as you don't let your actions corrupt you. If in your heart, you feel that it's not right to use your gift to help us now, then don't use the quill and ink. It's okay if you feel that you can't."

Henry thought for a few minutes and then answered, "No, you're right. However, these villains aren't the only ones we have to worry about. More will rise up. And we can't keep Hyde or the rest of them locked up in the jail forever. What am I supposed to write, that will make them powerless to be a threat against us again?"

Snow looked over at her husband and shrugged when no idea came to her, but David suddenly smiled as he responded, "Actually, I think I do. We may not be able to imprison these villains within the jail's cells, but we can still imprison them, just like the Apprentice did to Isaac."

"By locking them away into their own stories," the Author said enthusiastically as he quickly flipped through the pages of another of the books lying on the table in front of him until he came to Jekyll's and Hyde's story. "Grandpa, you're a genius!"

"Perhaps, but we'll still have to lure them out in order to get them within range of their books in order to pull them in," the Prince replied sternly. "This is also going to take us time. I suggest we deal with Hyde first, since he's our biggest threat."

Snow agreed as she answered, "With the Evil Queen having gone through the portal, the others most likely won't be much of a threat to us unless they decide to attack us without orders and if they do, we can stop them then. But Hyde is a threat and he will come after us again. At least this way, we will also be helping Dr. Jekyll so that he won't have to look over his shoulders any longer, afraid that his own dark side will try to kill him again."

The fifteen year old spoke up again saying, "There's one person we keep forgetting about, who needs our help. The Evil Queen had the Dragon's heart, but I don't think she transported him with her to Killian's ship before they disappeared through the portal. I bet that his heart is being protected by another of the villains. I'm going to use the quill to summon him and his heart to us so that we can free him."

" _And the Dragon's heart appeared within Snow White's hands, finally freeing the Dragon from the Evil Queen's imprisonment,_ " Henry wrote on one of the blank pages, as a heart magically appeared in Snow's hands exactly as was written, followed immediately by the Dragon himself, who smiled warmly at the Charmings and the young man who had just saved him.

"I can never thank the three of you enough for freeing me from the villains' services," the man of magic stated sincerely.

Snow immediately handed the Dragon his heart and waited for him to push it back into his chest, then she responded, "You don't have to thank us, Mr. Dragon… if that's what we call you. Freeing good people and stopping villains is what we do."

David nodded and added, "That's right. We're just glad that we were able to help you and that the Queen didn't take you and your heart with her to the Enchanted Forest."

"Do you have any idea what her plans are?" Henry asked worryingly. "For my moms and Killian I mean? There's nothing I can do for them, but…"

"But you fear for them," the Dragon answered for the teenager, knowing his thoughts. "I do not know of the Evil Queen's plans for your mothers, but I am certain they can defeat her, as they are far more powerful. But your friend, the pirate… She wishes Hook's father to take on the role that his son once had and will manipulate him into giving her what she wants. Captain Hook will become reborn and the good man he has become will disappear forever."

Snow looked over at her grandson sadly upon seeing the anger on his face as she responded, "You said it yourself, Henry. There's nothing you can do, but Emma and Regina can help him. And they will, you know that."

Henry nodded in reluctance and then replied, "I do know it. I just wish I went with them."

"And what about Hyde and the other villains still here?" David asked as he turned back to their friend from New York. "Do they have anything planned for us now that the Queen is no longer in charge of their little band?"

"Only Hyde has plans to come against you," the Dragon answered as he looked between the Prince and Princess. "Though I was never told of his plans. I do not know what his next plan of attack is, except that it involves his counterpart."

Snow nodded as she turned to her husband and said, "We thought so."

David then responded, "Then it's time we come up with our own plan of attack and use his yearning for revenge against Dr. Jekyll against him. We have a way to trap him, where he will no longer be able to cause anyone harm. We just need a chance to draw him to us so that we can use it."

"Actually, I think Zelena can help us with that," Henry replied. "You guys told me how you trapped Hyde and the villains briefly, by changing all of your appearances to look like my mom. What if Zelena disguised herself to look like Jekyll?"

"And once Hyde is distracted by her, you can trap him inside the book," Snow answered smugly. "She should have no trouble distracting him for a few minutes."

David responded, "We'll be ready to help Zelena if she needs us."

The Dragon stated, "This sounds like a good plan indeed." 


	24. Chapter 24

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Four

Regina used her magic to guide the small rowboat she, Emma, and August were now travelling in along a river deep within the forest on the path to where the former Queen was taking them on in their search for Killian. It was dark, as it was late into the night, and the heroes were exhausted, having not slept since early the night before and August even longer as he had been riding long and hard to get home to Storybrooke once he felt recovered enough from his torment at Gold's and the Queens of Darkness' hands. Neither of them spoke until they were well underway, as August finally broke the silence that had fallen over them.

"It's quiet along this river," he said quietly, looking all around him in between taking a few glances at Emma, who remained silent as she wearily stared off at nothing while she gently twirled the ring she was wearing on a chain around her neck within her fingers. "Almost peaceful."

"It would be peaceful if this land would have remained untouched by my cruelty, but I ruined that for the few who used to live here when I brought death through this part of the forest like I did everywhere else," Regina answered regrettably as they came upon a small shore where a single cottage stood deserted for what appeared to be many years.

Emma finally broke from her reverie as she turned to the cottage and asked, "Is this where you planned on taking us, Regina? Where are we?"

The Mayor glanced at her quickly and then responded nervously, "This is Brennan's cottage where he lived with his second wife and youngest son, where Hook took his life on my orders. No one has lived here since, including Liam."

"Then you really don't know what happened to him after… after Killian…?" Emma struggled to ask until August cut in for her and changed the subject a little.

"Would your curse have even reached this far out?" he asked as he got out of the small boat, then turned around to help both women do the same. "I mean it seems pretty isolated, even when we passed through town."

Regina walked over to the well a few feet away from the cottage as she replied, "It would have been more prosperous had I never come here. Hook killing his father here was only the beginning. Those who lived here either left just before the curse came through here, or many were killed by me and my men. And no, I don't know what happened to the boy after his father's death. I stopped watching Hook the moment he stabbed Brennan. It's possible Hook brought the younger Liam somewhere afterward where he would live, or the kid may have just walked away on his own and never came back. Whether he knows if his father is dead, or that he simply abandoned him as Brennan had done to Hook and the other Liam, I don't know that either."

Emma shook her head in frustration as she whispered sadly, "We have no idea how old Liam is, or if he's even still alive. What are we even doing here? I just want to find Killian and protect him, then we can worry about finding Liam."

"And that's why I've brought us here," Regina answered. "We know that Brennan and Milady are searching for the boy, who is about Henry's age and should still be, thanks to the curse. If we're going to find Hook, then we have to find Liam first. A locating spell here in the Enchanted Forest is much more difficult than one is in Storybrooke or even New York City."

"How do we know if he's even still here in the Enchanted Forest?" the Savior asked again. "I mean, Killian obviously must believe he is, otherwise Brennan would have travelled someplace else, but… What if Liam became swept up by the second dark curse that you and my parents cast to bring yourselves back home? He could be somewhere in Storybrooke for all we know."

The other woman nodded, then responded, "Which is why we've come here. I believe I know of a way to find out, but I need something belonging to both Hook and Brennan in order to enact the mirror spell with a little help from the water from this well. It will allow us to open a window into Hook's past so that we can see whether or not he took the kid with him when he left, or if he simply left him alone."

Regina turned to Emma, who looked at her as she added, "But like I said, I'm going to need something of his too. As this well and the land belonged to Brennan, we've got all we need from him."

"His ring," the Savior stated as she quickly removed it from around her neck and handed it to her friend. "I still carry it with me. Killian wanted me to keep it. I should have given it back to him. He swears it is meant to keep its wearer safe and all that's happened to him since he gave it to me is nothing, but tragedy."

"His ring will work just fine," Regina replied confidently as she raised it out over the well and let it hang from the chain still within her hand, then closed her eyes while she began the spell. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to it."

Water slowly rose from the well and formed a small pool in the air in front of them as an image of Killian appeared with the window. He was sitting within the shadows of what looked to be in a tavern with his back to the wall behind him while he waited for all of the patrons to leave until only Brennan appeared to remain alone.

Regina started to flick her other hand to change the memory while she said, "I didn't mean to bring us this far back. This was after I left the tavern Brennan owned so that Hook so that he could talk to his father. I can move forward to…"

Emma reached out to grab her hand to stop her as she spoke up saying quietly, "No, don't. I want to see this. Killian's been having nightmares, and not just from what happened to him while trapped in the Underworld. He's suffered nightmares ever since he was a child himself and he's been afraid to talk to me about them. If I can see for myself… If I can learn what really happened to him and why he killed his father, then maybe I can do more to help him get past his pain."

"All right," her friend answered worryingly and left Killian's and Brennan's memory alone.

 _The tavern was now closed and Hook was the only remaining patron as he sat alone at one of the tables, tapping his hook impatiently until he took another sip of his ale. Brennan was still behind the bar when he finally noticed his son, whom he didn't know at that moment he was his son._

 _"Look, I don't want any trouble, but we're closed, mate," Hook's father said strictly as he stepped out from behind the bar while keeping his distance from the man he knew right away was a pirate from how he was dressed._

 _Hook lowered the pint as he looked over at the man and responded, "Why might I cause trouble? Because I'm a dirty pirate? Or because I'm a boy whose father abandoned him on the high seas?"_

 _Brennan froze as he stared at the man and upon recognizing him, he then stated in surprise, "Killian."_

 _"Aye," he replied coldly as he slammed his tankard down and stood up, then moved out into the light so that his father could see him. "But it's Captain Hook now. You once told me I had to decide what kind of man I wanted to be. Well, Father... this is who I became!"_

 _"How is this possible?" the other man asked in shock. "I left centuries ago."_

 _Hook answered, "We both found a way to cheat death."_

 _Brennan nodded as he kept his eyes on his son and responded, "That we did. Your brother?"_

 _"Liam... was not so fortunate," Killian replied brusquely at the mention of his brother._

 _"But you... look at you," the other man spoke again with relief, upon learning that one of his sons was still alive after all these years in which Killian should have been long dead. "You grew up. Where have you been?"_

 _While he slowly walked closer to his father, Killian answered even more angrily than before, "Neverland. I was biding my time until I found a way to kill myself a crocodile. It's a tale of woe and revenge but one that you don't need to be concerned with. It's your tale that matters. So, tell me, father, where does a scoundrel like you run after he's sold his sons into servitude?"_

 _Brennan shook his ahead as he responded remorsefully, "Oh, I'm sorry, Killian. Truly, I am. I ran. I didn't get far. Not long after I left you and Liam, I got caught and put under a sleeping curse."_

 _"A sleeping curse?" the younger man said in disbelief. "How the bloody hell are you awake now?"_

 _"How does anyone break a curse?" he continued quickly. "True love's kiss."_

 _Hook glared at him as he asked cruelly, "Who could ever find a way to love you?" Brennan slowly moved closer as he replied resolutely, "My nurse. I could hear her speaking, as I slumbered. Her voice was so kind, so gentle. She made me see the error of my ways. I fell in love with her. And she with me. She changed me. I just... I just... wish... that I'd known her when we were together. You could've had the father you wanted. The father you deserved. I'm so sorry."_

 _"Where is this woman?" the pirate Captain asked, suddenly feeling slightly ashamed for being angry with his father for so long._

 _"A few years... after we married... she fell ill," he answered sadly as he took a seat at one of the tables beside him, then looked away. "The plague. She never recovered."_

 _Killian glared down at him for a few moments and then spoke up again saying coldly, "I came here to kill you, Father. Your life was the price I had to pay to finally get my revenge. But we've both lost too much."_

 _The tavern owner looked back up at his son as he asked with surprise, "You're going to spare me?"_

 _"In a manner of speaking," Hook responded. "The world must believe you're dead. The queen, everyone must think I killed you. I can secure you a letter of transit to take you far from this place. Maybe you can start again."_

 _"You'll come with me?" Brennan asked immediately as he stood up before his son._

 _Tears began to fall from the corner of her eyes as Emma watched the man she loved face his father again after all the time he had lived with his pain, then continued to watch as Killian replied sadly, "No, you see, I had a love, too. And she was taken from me. You can't destroy the plague that took yours, but I can destroy the plague that took mine. I must continue on."_

 _The man reached up to gently place his hand on his son's shoulder as he answered, "I hope you find peace... Son."_

 _"We must hurry," Hook responded sternly as he immediately shrugged his father's hand away and then started to walk away. "Any delay will arouse suspicion. I'll bring the letter of transit tonight."_

 _"Actually... would it be possible... to bring two?" his father asked nervously, stopping the pirate before he could leave._

 _He turned around as he stated in confusion, "Two?"_

 _Brennan replied, "My wife and I... we had a son."_

"It's time to move on," Regina finally said again as she waved her hand to clear the image and change it to the moment from their friend's past that she had meant to show the others with her.

"What exactly are you trying to show us?" Emma asked as she started to wipe away the tears that were falling down her cheeks, while August continued to remain quiet, not sure if there was anything he could do or say to try to comfort his friend then.

Regina looked between them worryingly as she answered, "I'm trying to come to the moment after Killian murders his father so we can learn of what happened to Liam, but as you can tell, I'm having a hard time pinpointing the right moment from his past. For this next memory… Emma, you don't have to be here for this. I can…"

The Savior shook her head as she responded firmly, "No. No, I do need to be here. I told you before, I want to be able to understand what he felt so I can help him forgive himself. If seeing Killian kill him… If this is what we need to do to find the truth about what happened to Liam, then so be it. I'll be fine. Just get this over with."

 _Regina flicked her wrist again and the next memory from the men's past appears within the water still risen in the air before them, showing Hook standing at the front of the cottage close to where they were standing now while he held a piece of paper in his hands, which Regina quickly explained to them were the two letters of transit Killian needed to bring his father and the boy to safety. Hook walked closer to the small house and pushed open the door, finding Brennan tucking in a young boy that Emma, Regina, and August realized was the younger Liam they've been looking for._

 _"I'm scared, Father," he whispered as he looked up at Brennan fearfully. "I don't want to leave here in the morning."_

 _"I know," Brennan replied bravely for his youngest lying in the bed before him. "But we'll be okay. You and I will find another home. What matters most is that we're together. We can face anything that way. Now, it's late. Close your eyes. And remember... whenever you're scared, all you have to do is look... inside. We're all braver than we think if we just look deep enough. Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning, Liam."_

 _He leaned down and kissed Liam's forehead, while Killian's eyes hardened as he turned and walked away, then waited for his father to come out again. But when Brennan did so and walked toward his middle son, who didn't turn to face him as he approached, the older man could see that his son was clearly upset by something._

 _Brennan reached out his hand to shake Killian's as he spoke up saying sincerely, "Thank you, Killian."_

 _Without turning to him until he was nearly finished talking, Hook asked miserably, "You named your boy Liam. After my brother, after the son... you abandoned. Was he really that easy to replace?"_

 _"I wasn't trying to replace him," the man answered with sadness in his eyes. "I was trying to honor him, to honor you both. So I'd remember never to make the same mistake."_

 _"No, people don't change," Killian responded angrily as he pointed at Brennan in a threatening manner. "I saw what you said to him in there! It's the same thing you said to me! It was a lie then, and it's a lie now!"_

 _Brennan replied again more firmly. "Killian, please… It's not true. I have changed. I would never leave him."_

 _Hook pointed at him again as he answered coldly, "But you would leave me."_

 _"Killian, please!" his father pleaded as Hook walked over to the lit torch and tossed the piece of parchment that held Brennan's ticket to freedom in the fire. "What are you doing?"_

 _"Deciding what kind of man I want to be," Killian responded cruelly as he looked over at his father again and slowly began to walk closer to him while he continued. "You see, if the queen discovers that I've deceived her, I might not get what I need, and I can't have that. You're just not worth it."_

 _Emma immediately turned her head away and collapsed to her knees in despair as Hook then pulled out a dagger from inside his coat and stabbed Brennan in his chest, holding him as the man grunted in pain, before he fell to the ground. He tried to grab onto his son to keep from falling, but Hook immediately shoved him away and stepped back._

 _Before Brennan died, he managed to speak a few last words like Killian told Emma he had the very night Brennan arrived in Storybrooke, as they heard him mutter, "It's never too late. You can change. Be a different man."_

August knelt down and pulled the Savior into his arms as she wept openly, while Regina paused the image again and said remorsefully, "I'm so sorry, Emma. I tried to… What happened to Brennan that night, what Hook did to him... It was my fault and I can't even begin to apologize enough."

"You don't have to," Emma replied without looking up at her or at August. "Just tell me how seeing all that helped us any."

"It's what comes next that we need to see," the other woman answered, then waved her hand to resume the memory as she and August watched as Killian continued to stand over Brennan's body, then started to walk to door of the cottage once more, until he suddenly turned back and struck the well with his hook in anger, breaking away several stones that made up its wall.

Emma heard the sound of Killian's violence against the well while the memory continued and didn't need to see what happened as she turned her head to look over at the destruction within the well beside her. She raised her hand to grab it, then leaned against August to pull herself up again and continued to watch as Hook walked away, leaving Liam alone inside and his father dead on the ground to be found the next morning when the youngest Jones brother walked outside.

August kept his arm wrapped over Emma's shoulders for comfort while the three of them watched as Liam screamed for help, pulling his father into his arms and cried, then took a small boat like the one they had used to come to the cottage in themselves into town still covered in Brennan's blood.

Regina sped through the images as though they were watching a movie in fast forward while Liam spoke with several people who took him in for awhile, as rumors and lies spread around town about who might have killed Brennan. However, one woman's story was true as she told others she had seen a dark handsome man with a hook for a hand lurking around, waiting for everyone to leave the tavern until Brennan was alone. Eventually, after what took longer than they imagined it would, they finally learned that a couple who turned out to be the boy's mother's parents arrived in the small town to take Liam in for good.

While she released the water as it dropped back into the well with a splash, Regina stated in frustration, "It's about damn time. But at least we finally know where we're going, or I do anyway. I learned a lot of information when I looked for a secret that I could use against Hook before I learned about his father still being alive. The second mother's parents live in another hut even smaller than this place at the bottom of the Forbidden Mountain, not all that far from Maleficent's old castle. Since she came to Storybrooke, the mountain's really no longer forbidden and well, I have a feeling that the dragon lady didn't even know these people lived there. But she also was a recluse for the longest time. She wouldn't have known."

While Emma continued not to look at either of them or even speak, August turned to the former Queen as he asked, "Regina, could you give me a moment alone with her please? And then we can get going."

"Of course," she responded and began to walk over toward the boat. "I'll be ready when you are."

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Emma," he spoke quietly when he turned to look at his closest friend. "I wish you would have just let us watch all that without you. I can't imagine how difficult it was for you to watch the man you love kill…"

Emma immediately cut August off as she turned to him and replied sadly, "Seeing him kill his father isn't what was so hard about watching his memories play out. It was seeing the rage and despair on his face. Killian's been tormented by his actions that night ever since. I know what you're thinking, August. He isn't that man anymore and I love him."

August answered, "I know and I don't think any less of Hook. Believe me, I am the last person who would have a right to judge him. I've made plenty of mistakes in my life, a few of which are worse than the rest. I paid for them, just as Hook has. It's like I told you before on the ship, I want to get to know the man he really is, the good man you see him as."

"Thank you for being here," she responded as she suddenly pulled him into a hug. "This isn't your fight, but I'm grateful that you and Regina are willing to fight it with me."

"What are best friends for?" he replied with sincerity. "Now, let's go let Her Majesty know that we're ready to leave this place. We'll find him, Emma."


	25. Chapter 25

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Five

Centuries ago…

Silver cautiously made his way back through the streets of the port, staying within the shadows of the dark as much as possible to avoid being seen by anyone who might be around while he walked to get back to his ship. The thieves' blood was on his clothes and he wasn't prepared to get caught by the town's law enforcement, even though he knew his men would break him out. Silver was already a wanted man for piracy, thievery, murder, and even kidnapping in multiple ports. This one was wealthy and full of merchants pleased, as well as eager to trade their goods even with a pirate. He didn't care to add it to the list of towns they couldn't return to.

He was nearly to the harbor when all of a sudden, the sound of a pistol's hammer being pulled back made him freeze and when he turned around, he saw Liam standing before him with the weapon raised and aimed directly between his eyes. The older Jones brother was angry, yet Silver just smiled as he lowered his hands and kept his eyes trained on his twenty year old servant.

Liam was the first to speak up saying, "I suspected something wasn't right about those men in the tavern who attacked me and my brother. They talked too much, Captain. You hired them to attack us, but not for our money. You wanted them to kill Killian."

The pirate laughed and then responded smugly, "I don't know what it is you think you know, son. But I assure you…"

"Save it!" the younger man answered angrily, keeping his finger firmly on the pistol's trigger. "They grabbed Killian after they robbed us and said that only one of us was going to be returning to you, as if that was their plan all along. And it was, wasn't it? I saw your face when we first arrived back at the ship. You were angry to see that my brother was still alive. And when I told you I killed the man, you were pleased."

"I'm afraid you don't know what you're talking about, son," Captain Silver replied sternly.

Liam shook his head in frustration as he responded coldly, "I didn't know any of this for sure, but I followed you when you left tonight. After Killian finally fell asleep once I finished taking care of him because I suspected something wasn't right. You should warn your men not to drink so much while at port. I heard and saw everything, Silver. You knew if you killed Killian outright, that you would have to kill me too because I would never serve you and your crew again. But for some twisted reason, you seem to think of me as a son you never had. So you hired men to kill him and make it appear to be a mugging. Why the hell do you hate my brother so much? What did he ever do to you?"

The Captain slowly moved toward Liam, still unafraid by the pistol in his face, as he answered cruelly, "Because your brother is an angry, vulgar little pissant, who lacks manners and the aptitude for hard work. Your own father couldn't stand him and neither can I, so yes. I hired men to rid me of him once and for all, thinking that I could still keep you on. You may be a good man, Liam. However, if you can't see that losing the dead weight who always drags you down is what's better for you, then I'll just have to kill you too. Either way, Killian is as good as dead the moment I return."

"Not if I kill you first and take Killian far away where your men will never be able to find either one of us again," the oldest Jones replied firmly as he started to pull back on the hammer to kill the man who owned him and his brother, until suddenly Liam became frozen, as did what little else there was on the streets at this hour around him.

"I'm afraid that I cannot let you kill this boy," a voice sounded from behind the pirate, as Silver slowly turned around and saw a man wearing a dark cloak covered his face and body until he reached up to pull back its hood so the Captain could see him. "He may be the one about to shoot you, but you have a knife in your hand hidden behind your back and plan to kill him before you die."

Silver glared at the monster before him, but slowly backed away when he saw the gold hues of his skin and his eyes, realizing that this man wasn't just an old spinster. He quickly grabbed the pistol from Liam's hand, but lowered it before firing when it donned on him that an ordinary weapon wouldn't protect him against the Dark One.

The pirate kept his eyes on him as he asked, "You are who people call the Dark One, are you not?"

The magical being smiled and then responded, "I am indeed. I am glad to know that you already know of me. It will save me the trouble of having to explain myself to you. But from now on, simply call me Zoso. It's easier than Dark One or any other names people have made up for me over the decades that I have been alive."

"Very well," Captain Silver stated quietly. "Tell me, Zoso. Why should I spare this young man? Is he one of your kin?"

"Why is it you wish to kill him so much, Captain?" the villain asked in return.

The man scoffed, then he answered, "Because he threatened my life. That, and because he refuses to see that his brother is only going to get him killed one day. I would let him live were it not for the whelp."

Zoso nodded as he replied, "That may be, but I fear I cannot allow you to kill the whelp either. Their lives cannot be taken by your hand, or by the hands of someone whom you have hired to kill him. That is why I have interfered here tonight."

"Why is that?" Silver asked angrily. "The sixteen year old boy creates more trouble than he is worth. He is defiant and refuses to be the good little slave his brother is. I want him gone. I want him dead!"

"Unfortunately for you, that cannot happen until one day the brothers Jones find their chance to make themselves free men," the Dark One responded smugly. "And one day they will do just that. Nights before they came into your service, before they were handed over to your first mate upon being sold, I made a deal with their father. He struggled being a father to two boys after the death of his wife. He was also wanted by the law for theft and murder and his fear for his own life outweighed his love for his boys, so he sold them into servitude for a chance at freedom. However, when he came to me with his proposal, he asked that they be cared for and remain alive so long as they are in your hands. He thought that meant that they would remain safe in your hands, but the thing about us Dark Ones is, we are tricky. Liam and Killian Jones care for each other and so long as death doesn't result from your cruelty, you still have the ability to beat the boy senseless to your heart's delight."

The pirate said sternly, "I see. And what did their father give you in return for your protection of his boys? I hear he didn't get very far before he was caught by the man whose brother he killed. When we spoke of our own deal we made for his boys' service in exchange for the rickety old rowboat I had for him to leave in, he didn't have anything of more worth than them. What could he have possibly given you?"

Zoso answered, "What is valuable for one man, is not always valuable to another. Let's just say he had information about the existence of a magical hat."

"Fine, so I cannot kill these brothers," Silver replied sternly, not caring about the story of some hat. "What do I do with them? The younger one defies me at every turn and this one here, will never respect me again."

"He didn't respect you before," the Dark One responded smugly. "He only did all you asked of him without fight because he feared for his brother's wellbeing. If you wish, I can turn back this day so that Liam will never know of your attempt to kill him. Everything will go back to exactly as it was before, yet you will remember everything. Killian will remain just as troublesome as always, but Liam will go back to respecting you, as you call it, and those three men you killed earlier tonight to try to keep your secret intact will no longer be dead. You will not have to run from this port in fear of reprisal."

He chortled, then asked skeptically, "And what will all of this cost me? I have plenty of treasures that I've plundered over time. But I doubt a magical being such as yourself requires gold and silver, or even precious gems."

The villain answered, "All I want from you is a favor, Captain. Any favor for which I can come back to collect on any day of my choosing."

"Do we have a deal?" Zoso asked with frustration when Silver didn't say another word for over a minute while he thought the proposition over. "I will even throw in an extra gift that will give you a greater satisfaction the next time you chose to punish the little whelp."

"We do," Silver finally replied as he looked over at the twenty year old still frozen, then turned back to the Dark One and shook the villain's hand in accord. "We have a deal."


	26. Chapter 26

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Six

One night later…

When Liam arrived in town after he left his grandparents' home, he walked into the tavern where he worked for one of the Evil Queen's former Black Knights, who now owned the place far from the Queen's castle since the first dark curse swept her and most of the rest of those who lived within the Enchanted Forest away. Liam was sixteen years old and therefore was too young to do much of anything except clean up after the patrons and drunkards that bustled in and out of there all the nights long. However, from time to time the owner would have the boy run the bar whenever he had other business matters to attend to. And tonight was one of those nights.

"Liam!" one of the barmaids suddenly called out from across the room and then strolled over to him while he was busy cleaning the steins and dirty pitchers behind the bar. "Robar just rode into the stable to put away his horse. I suggest you hurry up and collect your share of tonight's kitty before he walks in, or you'll never get paid. Although, he actually looked pretty happy tonight. So you might just get what you're owed after all."

"Thank you, Sorsha," the young man replied quietly. "You should go home. Your husband's going to come charging down here to cause trouble again if you don't. And don't let Robar… you know."

The older woman, though not by many years, smiled as she leaned in close to him and whispered seductively into Liam's ear, "It's part of my job, Liam. Making love to the men who come here for my services and to Robar too. It's the part I actually really enjoy. If you want, I can show you just... how… much."

He pulled her in closer and kissed her roughly, then stared into her eyes as he responded haughtily, "I would love nothing more, but tonight's not a good night for me. And it's not for you either."

"Liam, serve drinks all around!" the owner of the tavern called out the moment he walked through the door, then pulled another of the wenches into him and kissed her for almost a minute while he squeezed her buttocks playfully before letting go of her. "Mmm… That's right, we've got something to celebrate!"

"What's happening, sugar?" she asked drunkenly, while Liam quickly poured ale for everyone as he was ordered to, then began to serve the patrons.

The former knight slammed a parchment down on the bar, which Liam could see was an enlistment letter, as he shouted enthusiastically, "What's happened, darlin', is that the Evil Queen has returned! She's back and she's enlisting all able-bodied men to become members of her new league of Black Knights like we once were. I've just met with a few other friends from those days. This is the real deal."

Liam continued filling more steins as he answered, "That's wonderful news, Sir. Does this mean you plan to shut this place down for good?"

"Of course," Robar replied smugly. "I can't very well fight for Her Majesty and run a tavern as demanding as this one now, can I? Come with me the men, Liam. Work for the Queen and you'll see that the rewards you'll receive are much better than anything you can earn while working in a place like this."

"I don't know," the young man responded sternly. "I'm still trying…"

The owner finished for him, "You're still looking for the villain who murdered your father. You've finally learned who killed him. But if you really want to find him, only the Queen can help you do that."

Liam nodded and then started to walk away until he stopped as he asked, "Can I have until the end of tonight to think it over? To let you know whether or not I will come with you, I mean?"

"Of course, kid," the knight answered. "You're a good man. Finish serving our ale, clean this place up, then go and have yourself a little fun with one of the girls. All of them would be happy to pleasure you for tonight."

"Thank you, Sir," he replied with a smile, then went back to his task at hand.

When Liam walked off and continued his task, he came to a table where an older, yet certainly the most attractive woman within the tavern, sat with one hand on her lap, while the other reached up to undo the top few ribbons of her corset to reveal more of her breasts to him as she smiled up at him.

The teenager gasped as he accidently dropped one of the goblets and spilled some of the ale onto the table and floor upon seeing the woman's actions, then immediately apologized and started to walk away until she reached out to grab his arm as she said quietly, "It's okay, you don't have to leave. I've been waiting here awhile, hoping for a chance to talk to you."

He stared at her and then responded, "I beg your pardon, ma'am, but... I'm only sixteen and you are clearly far more sophisticated than I could ever…"

"Relax," she stated and then laughed. "I didn't come here for that. I only wanted to draw your attention. I was hoping for a chance to speak with you alone. Would you come up to my room that I've rented for the night when you've finished up down here?"

"Why would you want to talk to me?" Liam asked with confusion. "Do I know you?"

The woman shook her head and stood up, then started to walk away until she turned back to him as she whispered again, "No, but I know your father."

His eyes suddenly turned cold as he glared at her and answered coldly, "My father is dead. So if you think you know him, then I'm afraid you're talking to the wrong man."

"Liam Jones, son of Brennan Jones who was murdered three… well really more like thirty-three or thirty-four years ago… by the dreaded pirate, Captain Hook," she replied smugly while she turned her head back to look at him almost seductively. "Am I right?"

"How did…?" he asked in shock. "Who are you?"

She smiled, then responded, "I'm Milady de Winter. You can simply call me Milady. As I said, come up to my room at the top of the stairs and we can talk. I'll be waiting for you. Trust me when I say you really want to hear what I have to say."

Nearly an hour later, Liam cautiously walked up to the rooms above the tavern, then knocked on the door that was directly in front of the top of the stairs as the woman he spoke to earlier had directed for him to come to. After the second knock, Milady opened the door and motioned for him to come inside, but Liam froze upon seeing that she wasn't alone.

He stared at the dark stranger for a few seconds before he finally turned to the woman and spoke up saying curtly, "I thought you wanted to talk alone. Who the hell is this?"

"Liam?" the other man asked with surprise as he stood and then slowly started to approach the sixteen year old until he immediately stepped back and turned to leave. "No please don't go."

"Look, I don't know who either of you are," Liam began curtly while he kept his eyes on the man still attempting to move closer to him. "Though you… monsieur, do look a bit familiar… and I don't really care what your game here is, but I'm leaving."

All of a sudden, Liam's eyes fell on the man's left hand and saw that it wasn't real, even though the wooden hand was covered by one of the gloves he wore, then he glared at the man again as he asked, "Who the hell are you? How do you know me and what do you know about my father? You're him, aren't you? Captain Hook."

Brennan raised his arms and immediately backed away when Liam swiftly raised a pistol he had tucked into the back of his pants directly at him, then he answered, "Yes… and no. If you'll only put away your weapon and have a seat. Allow me to explain."

"I've been looking for you," the teenager replied angrily. "So that I can kill you for killing my father, then leaving his body lying on the ground outside of our home for me to find when I woke up. I was thirteen years old! We were going to leave the next morning. He told me there was someone bad coming to find him. But he never did anything, to anyone. Why would you…?"

"I never meant for things to end up as they did, Liam," Brennan responded sorrowfully and then slowly took a seat on the bed behind him. "I never wanted you to suffer for my sins. I was trying to protect you, from the truth and from those whom I… A part of me is the man who killed your father, but I am also your father."

The teenager glanced at Milady and then turned back to the other man in confusion as he said, "I don't understand what you're talking about. You can't be my father, only the bastard who killed him! He's dead!"

Brennan shook his head and looked down as he answered, "On the last night we spoke, I tucked you into bed and tried to comfort you when you told me that you were scared. I said that if we remained together, we could face anything. I told you to close your eyes and said that whenever you're scared, all you have to do is look inside, because we are all braver than we think we are if you just look deep enough. Then, I stoked your cheek and kissed you on your forehead as I said goodnight."

"Father?" the boy whispered fearfully. "But how… how is this possible and why…?"

"Why am I inside the body of the very man who killed me?" the older man asked for the young man as he reached into his long coat pocket and pulled out the hook Killian wore, then clicked it into his brace after removing the fake hand. "That's a long story and I promise to tell you everything, but for now, I can say that I am truly alive again thanks to some help from the man whose body I'm possessing and the Queen."

Liam quickly asked again, "You mean, the Evil Queen helped to resurrect you by forcing you into him?"

Brennan sighed and then replied, "When I first met your mother, I was under a sleeping curse. I told you how we fell in love as she spoke to me and cared for me. However, long ago I was a different man, a man who made many mistakes. I had another family then, a woman who was taken from me, and two more sons. Liam, whom you were named after as a way to honor him, and… The man you see when you look at me now, he is not only the man who killed me that night, but he is also your other brother; Killian."

"I can't believe that your own son could kill you," the sixteen year old responded in disbelief. "Why would he do that?"

" _Why not tell your boy the truth, Father?_ " Killian stated angrily from within his mind again, causing Brennan to gasp in pain as he reached up to put his head in his hands to try to force the pain down again.

Liam swiftly sat down beside him on the bed as he asked worryingly, "Father, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Milady finally spoke up for the first time since Liam arrived in their room saying, "I'm afraid his resurrection wasn't completely a gift, but also a curse."

"I don't understand," the teenager answered sternly. "What does that mean?"

"When I was brought back from the Underworld, only my soul was revived," Brennan replied wearily. "But I needed a body to become fully restored. My body has long since been rotting in the ground. The only way for this to be done was for me to take over the body of another and in the town I was brought back to, Killian still lived through his own source of magic. He had changed into the man I pleaded with him to become before he killed me and even found love, as well as a place to call home. The Queen helped me to see that I needed to make Killian suffer for all he did to me, all that he stole from me. So she helped me binding my soul into his body. However, my son still lives. I can hear his voice constantly inside my head. He is always fighting to get out."

Liam shook his head as responded firmly, "You have to keep fighting him! Don't let him free, Father. I don't… I can't lose you again after all these years. For three years, I've wanted nothing, but to find the monster who killed you so that I could kill him. If he were to regain control over you, I don't know if I would be able to refrain from doing so."

Brennan pulled his son's head against his and closed his eyes against the agony still lingering as he answered, "I am so very sorry, Liam. For forcing you to feel the same pain that I have suffered, that my other two boys have suffered. I never wanted you to feel a thirst for revenge that Killian has instilled within me."

" _Whether you tell him the truth or not, he will learn of it one way or another,_ " Killian said again with even more anger than before. " _You can't be the loving father you pretended to be with me, even for him. Not when you will always have me inside your head reminding you of our hate. In time my voice will surely make you mad._ "

"In time you will be too weak!" the oldest Jones suddenly shouted at his middle son as he jumped up from the bed and smashed his fist into the mirror hanging on the wall in front of him.

The sixteen year old rushed to the door in fear, then ran from the room while Brennan tried to call out, "Liam! No, come back! Please…"

Milady reached out gently to pull him back and then pulled his hand in front of them so that she could look at the damage he had done to it while she tried to calm him as she stated soothingly, "Shhh… It's going to be all right. Your son will be back. He knows that you're his father now. And if he doesn't come back before we leave here in the morning, then we will go out in search for him again."

"He's afraid of me," he replied sadly. "Killian was right. His voice will always be here inside my head and it will make me go mad."

"You don't have to let it," the woman responded firmly. "You're stronger than your son is."

Brennan glared at her while the pain in his head still pounded and answered, "You have never actually met Killian or Captain Hook before, Milady. I am growing very fond of you, but do not presume to tell me anything about my sons."

She shook her head as she replied, "No of course not. I'm sorry. I only meant to encourage you to keep on fighting him. You said it yourself, he is getting weaker while you are growing stronger. Hold onto that. The more you defy and ignore him, the easier it is for you to overpower him. You and I have both seen that first hand. So defy him now. I'll treat your hand and then you can kiss me like you did last night. A bed will be far more comfortable than the cold, hard ground within the forest."

"As much as I would love to ravish you again, Milady, I… I just want… to find… my son," he struggled to respond as she continued to kiss him, with more passion each time she did so until he finally pulled her body into his arms and roughly tossed her onto the bed, causing her to laugh while he laid over her once again. "You are a very seductive woman. Has any man ever been able to resist your charm and beauty?"

"Only when I want them to," the woman answered smugly, then pulled his head close as she kissed him deeply and allowed him to undress her while she continued.

The two of them made love long into the night until they collapsed against each other when they could barely move, then laid as they were for several minutes until Brennan readjusted his body so that he was on his side, his leg and lower half of his body still draped over her and spoke up again saying, "That was incredible. You made it as though Killian is no longer here with me."

She smiled at him as she gently traced her fingers over his lips and whispered, "That's because he is cowering in the back of your mind. You proved to him which one of you is more dominant. Although, why he wouldn't want me to love him too…"

"Don't ever say such things," he replied curtly. "I find him simply being inside me hard enough. Tell me, why are you really here with me? Is it because by being so gives you more power than you can take from any man whenever you please, or do you actually have the capacity to care for someone, as I care for you?"

"I did love a man once," Milady responded sadly as she looked away. "And he was madly in love with me. But it wasn't enough for him to believe that I wasn't a traitor or a murder. I was innocent until he betrayed me by handing me over to be beheaded for the crimes I didn't commit and made me the woman I am now. I escaped from him twice. So, though I might care for you, Brennan, and want to be here with you, I can never truly love you. I will never give myself into love again and risk feeling that kind of pain. Isn't this enough?"

Brennan leaned in to kiss her again and then looked into her eyes as he answered, "I wasn't talking about love. I loved two women in my life and they were both taken from me. I will never love that way again. I just wanted to know how much of this was real or if you were simply using me."

She laughed as her body arched off the bed when he laid over her again and pushed himself inside of her, then she exclaimed, "Oh God! Perhaps if everything goes… ah… as planned after we find your son, we won't need the Queen's… help to make you immortal like me after all and then… we can go on living like this… mmm… forever."

"You're talking about Jafar… aren't you?" he asked while he continued. "You would give his… lamp over to me so that I could… have wishes… the same as… you."

"If I did, what would you ask for?" the assassin asked when he stopped without pulling away to look into her eyes again. "Would you ask him to rid you of your son so that he can no longer hurt you, so that Liam will no longer have to be afraid of you?"

Brennan smiled sadly and replied, "As much as I would love to be free of him, I can't lose the power that I have and will gain from keeping us as we are. I have all of his memories and thoughts inside my mind. I can be the man he once was and even stronger. I can gain favors from the Evil Queen and perhaps get the chance to get close enough so that I can kill her for bringing my son back into my life and destroying everything I had. And I can make my son suffer, which is exactly what he's feeling right now. He's in pain and he's ashamed because he longs for the Savior, but all he feels is your body against his own. Perhaps once I break him completely, when those heroes coming after us have given up on trying to save him, and the Evil Queen is dead, then I may use my last wish to rip Killian's soul from my body so that he will take my place back in the Underworld again. But for now, I'm happy with how we are, despite the fear I saw earlier on Liam's face. We'll make it work."

As he kissed her neck, Milady asked, "And the other two wishes?"

"Well, immortality for me and Liam," he responded. "And for my sec… second wish, I think I would ask for… the power that makes Killian's true love… the Savior. I know what she can do. We could wield that kind… of power ourselves and she would be… too powerless to stop us, perhaps even killed by her enemies. What do you think about that, son?"

" _I won't let you hurt her,_ " Killian answered angrily, finally talking again after he had struggled to close himself off the best he could to try to feel less of his torment. " _And she will never let you defeat her either. I swear it._ "


	27. Chapter 27

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Seven

In Storybrooke…

Mr. Hyde walked through the woods surrounding the town until he came upon the toll bridge, then walked across the old planks of wood until he stopped to look out at the sunshine rising above the trees while he stood behind his opposite and spoke up saying, "I was surprised to get your message, Doctor. I've got to admit, I didn't think you would have the courage to face me again, especially all alone."

Without turning around to face the evil half of himself, Dr. Jekyll answered nervously, "Yes, well the people here in this town have done wonders for me. Not only have they so graciously accepted me and welcomed me here to their home, but they have also showed me courage to stand and fight for what I love."

"And what is it that you love?" the villain asked coldly when he backed away and stood back while he kept his eyes on the smaller, timid man whom he knew he could easily snap in half with very little effort at all. "What is it that you keep trying to fight for? You've only been in this town a few days and have known a few of them a single day longer."

"Freedom," he replied immediately. "I am finally free of you and I will never allow you to destroy who I am again. Freedom is what I love and what I will keep fighting for. These heroes, they've shown me that I cannot cower any longer. And I don't intend to. Nor do I intend to let you keep trying to destroy my friends any longer. That's why I've asked you to come here. I wanted to show you something."

When Jekyll pulled one of the Author's storybooks out from his satchel he wore over his shoulders, Hyde chortled as he stepped forward again and watched while he turned the pages to their own story, then asked haughtily, "Do you really think that by showing me the good ole days and trying to appeal to the good part of me that never existed will convince me to give up on taking over Storybrooke?"

The doctor stuttered, "Uh… no. Because I know that you won't ever change. You are evil, but I thought that if I could remind of the moment between us when we both became free, that we might be able to come to some kind of understanding, or… or… or an arrangement of sorts. These pages are brand new, freshly written."

 _"So nice to finally meet you, Doctor," the villain read himself saying to the man still standing beside him and then became reminded of this moment shared between them while still within the Land of Untold Stories._

 _"Hyde…" Jekyll stated nervously after he fell to the floor of their home while he stared up at the monster from inside of him in fear._

 _Mr. Hyde reached his hand out to help the man stand, then slowly walked around him to get a better look at him as he responded quietly, "I've heard so much about you. You're even more disappointing in person. So weak. So pathetic. I was actually impressed that you had the courage to try to finish that serum of yours in secret."_

 _The doctor finally calmed his nerves while he answered curtly, "I had no choice. Being with you was destroying me."_

 _"But do you see the irony?" the darkness within the good man asked cruelly as he gently reached his hands up to the other's face. "Being separate is... what's going to destroy you."_

 _Hyde suddenly wrapped his hand around Jekyll's throat and used his other hand to hold the back of his head, then he began to choke the good doctor as he forced him down to his knees, causing the smaller man to gasp in pain while he fought to pull free. When Jekyll believed that he was about to die just as he had finally been successful in freeing himself from the monster inside of him, mercy appeared out of nowhere in the form of one of Hyde's captives, who wore a hook in place of his left hand._

 _"I don't think so, mate!" Killian sneered angrily as he swiftly thrust his hook into the villain's back and pulled him away from the man who tried to help them to escape, holding Hyde for as long as he could so that the others could come and help Jekyll._

 _When the warden rushed forward to try to help his boss, Zelena, Snow, and David charged in as the witch swiftly blasted the weaker villain back with her magic, knocking him unconscious, then she said smugly, "I've been waiting to do that."_

 _Hyde broke free from Hook and forced the pirate off of him and back against the couch, while David ran to Jekyll as he cried out, "Doctor!"_

 _"I told you to run," the smaller man spoke again nervously as David pulled him up to his feet._

 _"No," the Prince replied curtly. "You risked everything to save us. We had to do the same."_

 _Zelena on the other hand responded cynically, "To be clear, I was fine running."_

 _As soon as Hyde recovered and stood talk again before the heroes and his other self, he stated coldly, "Now I'm going to kill you all."_

 _Snow appeared through a door on the other side of the room and suddenly blasted the monster with the very electrical weapon the warden had used on them when they had first arrived in their strange land and knocked him out cold as well, leaving Jekyll standing among them in shock as he stared down at the unconscious form of the monster that very nearly killed him the moment the doctor's serum made him manifest so many years ago._

 _"Leave it," he finally said as he immediately rushed to the table and grabbed the second vile of his serum, then quickly left the room while the heroes followed after him. "It's of no use to us now. And we don't want to be here when he wakes up."_

"I don't know what you were expecting," Hyde spoke again when he turned away from the book, but kept his eyes on the man he saw as weak and pathetic. "I haven't changed my mind. I own this town. The Evil Queen may have abandoned us to pursue her own revenge, but I won't ever give up."

Jekyll smiled sadly as he kept his eyes down on the book's page it was still opened up to, while he slowly pulled something he concealed in his hand from his pocket and then answered, "I only wanted to show you why I'm doing, what I'm about to do. The people who live here, they are heroes and we won't give up this town without a fight. We won't ever stop fighting to protect each other."

Mr. Hyde looked over at the doctor skeptically and turned to him as he asked, "What has gotten into you? You act as though…"

"As though I'm not who I appear to be?" he replied when he pulled a glowing green gem out from his other pocket with his free hand as he suddenly transformed into the Author, who then swiftly used the key he had taken out moments before to magically pull the villain into the last page of Hyde's story, where a small hidden door was drawn to trap him like Isaac had been by the Apprentice, once long ago and again after he failed to destroy the heroes' happy endings. "Sorry, Hyde. But like I said, we won't let you remain free to hurt us any longer."

"Henry!" David shouted worryingly as he ran toward the fifteen year old from within the woods, then stopped and smiled when he saw that his grandson was safe and unharmed. "Way to go, Henry. You did it!"

As the real Dr. Jekyll, Snow, and Zelena walked up behind David, the teenager looked at them as he asked, "Did you really think that I couldn't do it? Believe it or not, it was much easier than I expected it to be."

Jekyll responded, "Maybe so, but you succeeded because Mr. Hyde believed himself to be unbeatable and that was his downfall. I owe you many thanks, Henry. You've done what I hadn't the courage to do. And your gift is amazing."

"Thanks," Henry answered happily. "But it was thanks to Zelena too. After all, she lent me her crystal that allows her to change her appearance. Both you and Mom inspired me."

"I think that's the first time I've ever been given credit and gratitude, by someone other than Regina or my mother," the former Wicked Witch replied quietly as she took her necklace back from the boy. "I think."

Snow stated firmly, "It won't be the last time, I assure you. We're all pretty good about giving credit where credit's due. You are one of us now, Zelena. If you're worried that you haven't been accepted by everyone, don't. You've already done so much for us and if we can forgive Regina for all the bad she's done, then we can do the same for you too."

The doctor nervously said, "I hope that word will spread to the rest of the villains what happened to Hyde."

"They're living in these woods, aren't they? Charming rhetorically asked. "Surely someone's seen what we've just done to their other leader. Don't worry. Word will spread and now they'll think twice about trying to attack us, for awhile anyway. And if they don't, we'll stop them too. We always do."

"Right now, I'm even more worried about my moms, Killian, and August," Henry answered sadly. "What condition will they be in when they finally return?"


	28. Chapter 28

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The moment that Zoso disappeared within a cloud of red smoke, the dark of night suddenly turned to day again as the Dark One promised and Liam vanished as well. Silver however remained standing as he was and when the threat made against him was gone, he cautiously made his way back to his ship where he found his men gambling just as they had been earlier that afternoon before he had ordered them to gather together to talk business. Though time had indeed been turned backward, it was apparent that it wasn't the entire day that had changed, but only a few hours.

As soon as he boarded, Boris was the first to notice him as he swiftly walked over, while the other pirates all stood to wait for their next orders, then the first mate asked quietly, "Captain Sir, where have you been? We were beginning to worry that something had happened to you. We are ready to discuss the matters at hand if you wish."

Silver was about to respond until Liam's voice cut him off as he shouted out, "Somebody help me! Please, he's hurt!"

"What did the little bastard do this time?" Boris asked cruelly when Silver said nothing unlike before when this occurred, as the twenty year old slave stepped onboard the ship while dragging his younger brother, who was wounded and covered in blood, along with him.

"It wasn't his fault," Liam replied coldly as he glared between the Captain and first mate. "We were attacked. Four men robbed us of what little money we had, then threatened to kill my brother. We fought them off until one of the men nearly killed me, but Killian saved my life and was injured doing so."

Even though he already knew what Liam's answer was going to be and that it was a lie, Silver stepped forward and roughly lifted Killian's head by his chin in order to look into the sixteen year old's eyes which were barely open and then asked, "How did he save you? I find it hard to believe that he could put up much of a fight against four thieves. Although the blood covering him tells me that some of the men are either dead or injured themselves. Did he kill anyone?"

The older brother shoved the Captain's hand away as he answered with anger, "I did. I killed one of them to save my brother. Killian only shouted a warning, but it cost him. Killian got hurt protecting me. I need fresh water and clean bandages, please!"

"You'll get them, but not just yet," Silver responded coldly as he pulled out a flask from inside his coat pocket, then turned back to Boris and his men to give them new orders. "Bind them both to the main mast and stretch their arms and legs out tightly. We're going to have some first."

"Liam…" Killian pleaded as the two brothers were pulled apart and strung up, Killian to the mast itself while Liam was bound to the rigging bridging off of it. "I'm sor…"

The older Jones shouted, "No! What the hell are you doing? My brother needs help, he's bleeding. He'll die if you don't let me take care of him!"

Captain Silver smiled and laughed, then he shook his head as he replied, "Don't worry, he won't die. And neither will you. Boris, if you'll gag the good one for me. I'd rather not listen to him scream and beg for us to stop once we begin. And then set sail. I don't want to alert this port's law enforcement either."

"Yes Sir, Captain," the old man answered smugly and then walked over to Liam while he pulled a rag from his pocket.

"Silver, you bastard!" Liam cried out while he struggled to keep the first mate from forcing the rag over his mouth. "Please… don't. Killian won't be able to serve your meals or clean the decks for days if you hurt him any further. He'll be of no use to you."

One of the other pirates chortled, then said, "We should just kill the kid. It'll put him out of his misery and we'll still have one slave left."

Liam responded rigorously, "Do that and you'll have to kill me too. Because I will kill as many of you as I can before you do if my brother dies!"

"Relax Liam," the pirate in charge replied coolly as he moved to stand directly in front of the youngest man onboard and took Killian's chin roughly in his hand again to try to get the boy to look at him. "It's like I said. He won't die, but he'll certainly want to after tonight. How much do you like rum, boy? This is from my own stash. You've stolen from me before and have been punished for doing so. However, this is mixed with something a little extra, a gift from a new friend of mine."

"Killian!" his brother shouted angrily until the gag was finally tied in place, as Silver forced the tip of the flask into his mouth and forced the teenager to drink the vile liquid inside of it.

Slowly Killian's head fell to his chest once more as though he were already drunk from the one swallow until a few moments passed and the large gash caused by the thief's blade from the tavern earlier became healed, then one of the pirates watching on gasped as he exclaimed, "Bugger me! What exactly is in that stuff?"

Captain Silver smiled as he answered, "A very temporary bit of magic, unfortunately meant for a one time use. It's only real worth is so that we'll all be able to torture him however we'd like to until it wears off. I was assured that he would still feel the pain, but the wounds will heal just fine, leaving behind only the scars. So have at him, boys. Flog him, drown him, and make him drunk. I don't care. Maybe after tonight he won't be so quick to become enraged or to do things that are harmful to his health."

The next few hours passed by slowly and agonizingly for both of the Jones brothers, but when the men were finally through with tormenting Killian, becoming piss poor drunk themselves while having their fun, Silver quietly walked over to where the older one still remained bound and gagged, looked into his red, tear stained eyes and smiled cruelly at the man as he swiftly cut through the cords that kept him bound so that he fell to deck in a heap. Liam immediately stood, then raced over to his brother's side and as he gently pulled the unconscious boy into his arms, Liam could see and feel that Killian's body was racked by a raging fever as sweat and blood covered him from head to toe. Their torment was brutal and his brother was forced to watch it all, as the Captain's men had stripped him down to his undergarments so that his back, chest, feet, and lower half of his legs were exposed, while they whipped, beat, and tortured him in other ruthless ways. His mouth had been gagged as well once Killian began screaming from the agony inflicted upon him.

"I've warned him, Liam," the man said cruelly as he stood over them. "Over and over I told him, but he never listens. Because you both are my slaves, any reprisal that might come from the death of the thief your brother killed this afternoon will cause us all unnecessary grief. We'll be hunted down and I don't appreciate that. You claim you killed the man, but I know better. Killian is a killer and one day, you'll know it too."

"And one day, I will make sure that you pay for all the pain you've inflicted on him," Liam responded resolutely as he glared up at them. "Let that be my warning to you. And a promise."

Weeks later, Killian was still struggling to recover and overcome that horrible day which would haunt him for many years to come. Liam had taken over doing as much of his brother's work as Silver and his men allowed him to. It wasn't only because Killian was sick for so long, but also because the teenager, though still far too young, also took to becoming drunk most nights as he used all of his wages to buy the cheapest rum he could find.

After he finished swabbing the deck one night, Liam walked down to the brig again, finding Killian passed out upon the floor and when he knelt over him to pull him up and lean him back against one of the walls, the twenty year old tapped his face gently to wake him as he spoke up saying, "Killian, come on. I need you to wake up. Who knows when Silver or Boris will be looking for you, for something. God, why are you doing this to yourself?"

He slurred when he replied, "Cause it hel… helps to… dull the pain. Helps me to… to forget some thin… things."

"It's going to get better over time," Liam answered with worry as he took the now empty flask from the teenager's hand and tossed it across the room.

"Not… for me," Killian responded sadly. "Maybe for you. You always were… were the better man. Why father would sell you too…"

The older Jones firmly raised his brother's head to get Killian to look at him the best that he could as he replied, "Don't you think that, little brother. You are every bit as good a man as I am. I promise, Captain Silver and these men will pay for what they've done some day. And so will our father, wherever he is."

Killian shook his head and then answered, "I wish… I could be… believe you."


	29. Chapter 29

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Nine

In the Enchanted Forest…

"I can't believe that people actually live through here," Emma said quietly as she looked around her while, she, August, and Regina walked deep through the dark woods surrounding the Forbidden Mountain. "Even with Maleficent gone… I feel like I should expect a lion to jump out at us, you know… like the Cowardly Lion did in The Wizard of Oz while Dorothy and the others were chanting. Only in this case, perhaps a dragon, rather than a lion."

"It's nice to see that you're keeping up your sense of humor," August replied with a smile.

Suddenly both women glared at him as they asked in unison, "What sense of humor?"

August laughed while Regina spoke up saying, "A lion probably won't be jumping out of these trees, or a dragon since Maleficent and now Lily are the only dragons left, but there are plenty of other creatures in these woods. This forest is filled with dangerous beings."

"How are you feeling, Emma?" the former Queen asked finally after pausing to look back at her friend. "I mean, with all of what I made you watch back at Brennan's cottage and…"

"I'll be fine when all of this is over and we're all back home again, with Killian," the Savior answered curtly. "I was the one who told you to show me all of it, so like I told you, don't blame yourself. And don't keep looking over at me like I'm going to shatter into a thousand pieces. I'm angry and I'm terrified for Killian, but so long as I have the slightest chance to save him, I'm well enough to keep my mind clear when we fight against whatever we're going to have to fight against. Now, how much further is Liam's grandparents' home?"

Regina looked ahead again as she responded, "We're close now, very close. Out of curiosity, what are you going to say to him, or to them… when we actually meet them?"

Emma shook her head as she replied worryingly, "I haven't a clue. What do you say to a boy whose half brother murdered their father, especially when I want to convince him to help me help Hook because I'm in love with him?"

"The right words will come, Emma," August answered confidently. "They always have for you before. Even when you refused to believe me when I was changing back into a wooden puppet, you were strong and determined. You may have been wrong about magic being real, but you made a pretty strong case for why it couldn't be. If I hadn't been… well brought to life in a world of magic, I wouldn't have believed me or anyone else in Storybrooke either."

"I hope you're right about the words coming when I need them to," she responded nervously as they came upon a large open field where a few huts resided, then froze as she struggled to think of what to say to the younger Liam and the couple who took him in after their son in law was killed. "Which one is it?"

Regina waved her hand, her magic helping her to indicate which home was the one they were looking for, then led her friends forward. When they stood in front of the door, Emma raised her fist to knock, but paused for a moment to try to calm her nerves, while August put his hand down on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

After knocking three times, an old woman finally came to the door and opened it just enough to see who was coming to visit her at the late hour while she asked fearfully, "Who are you? If you're those friends of Liam's, he's not here."

"I assure you, we are not here to cause you any trouble," Emma replied quietly as she looked the woman in her eyes. "We're not your grandson's friends, whom you're clearly afraid of. Please, we would just like to talk. We're afraid that Liam might be in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Gael asked nervously when she finally allowed the blonde woman at her door inside, followed closely by August, and Regina, whom the old woman immediately gasped in shock upon seeing as she fell back against the wall in fear. "You! You told me you didn't mean my boy harm. You lied!"

Regina raised her hands in a motion to show she meant the woman no harm as she answered, "I promise you, I mean you and Liam no harm. I'm not… Well I am the Queen, but I'm not the Evil Queen all of you feared any longer. Emma, perhaps it's best if I wait outside."

Emma shook her head as she kept her eyes between the other women around and responded, "It's all right, Regina. You don't have to leave. Ma'am, Regina isn't that woman any longer. She's changed, become loved by her entire kingdom including my parents. My name is Emma Swan. I am the daughter Snow White and Prince Da… James. I'm not really sure which of the brothers you might have known him as. You must have known of them."

"Of course I knew Snow White and the Prince," the older woman replied sternly. "I was at their castle on the day of their marriage, along with my daughter and my husband, both of whom have passed on now."

"I'm very sorry," the Savior answered with sincerity. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love. The man I love, his life is at stake and Liam can help me save him. His father was Brennan Jones?"

Gael nodded as she responded, "Yes, Brennan was my grandson's father. But Brennan has also passed on. He was murdered, by some notorious pirate if any of the rumors are really true. How can Liam be of any help to you? Why can't everyone just leave him alone? He's a good boy."

August asked quietly, "Who else has been bothering him, Madam…"

"Gael," the woman stated worryingly as she looked between the three strangers now inside her home. "Call me Gael. And if you really care, Liam has fallen in with bad men at the tavern where he's been working. Ever since your curse was broken, Your Majesty, Liam's been determined to find the monster who killed his father and those he's worked for have been helping him to find him."

"We need to know where Liam is right now," Emma replied curtly. "Please, it's a long story, but…"

All of a sudden, Liam charged into the hut crying out his grandmother's name until he swiftly froze upon seeing the others surrounding her, but as soon as he noticed Regina, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it at her while he said coldly, "What the hell are you doing here? Was sending Captain Hook to kill my father not enough for you? I won't let you kill my grandmother too!"

Liam fired the weapon to try to kill Regina, but Emma immediately raised her hand as she made the musket ball disappear and forced the pistol from his hand, then she spoke up softly saying, "I promise, Regina isn't here to hurt her, or you. And neither are we."

"I don't believe you," Liam answered as he glared at the blonde woman. "I just came from the tavern where her friends were waiting for me. I was lucky to get out of there."

"These two are my only friends here with me and like Emma said, we're not here to hurt either one of you," Regina responded. "Are you talking about a man who wore a hook in place of his hand and a woman who's travelling with him?"

Liam glared at the former Evil Queen as he replied, "That's right. You should be more careful with the people you enlist to work in your army of Black Knights. Captain Hook may be ruthless, but he's also crazy."

August looked into the teenager's eyes as he asked, "He tried to tell you he was your father, didn't he?"

"How did... You know about that?" Liam asked in return as he turned to the third stranger between the Queen and the other woman with magic as well, then looked over at Regina. "Is it true? Did you really bring my father back from the dead and put his soul inside the bastard who killed him?"

"I didn't, but my evil counterpart did," she answered remorsefully. "It's as we've tried to tell you, it's a long story and we'll explain everything if you'll let us. You just need to remain calm."

The sixteen year old crossed his arms as he glared at the heroes again and responded, "I only want to know if you can remove that monster from his body so that only my father will remain alive. He told me something about his soul needing another body. If my father really is alive, then I want him back, but I want him to be free. Captain Hook deserves to die for what he did to him. I don't care if he is my father's other son. He killed him!"

Emma looked at the young man sadly as she replied, "You're right. The pirate Hook once was did kill your father. But Killian isn't that man anymore. I'm guessing that Brennan made his son out to sound like the only monster, didn't he?"

"He told me that Killian found love," Liam answered cruelly upon recognizing the look in Emma's eyes. "That's why you three are here, isn't it? To save him?"

"I am in love with Killian," the Savior responded steadfastly. "And I will save him because he is a good man, who has more than made up for his past sins. I promise that if I can save your father too, I will. However, your father was a monster back when he sold Killian and his brother into servitude to try to save himself from the law. Just as he's a villain now. Please have a seat. We have a lot to talk about."


	30. Chapter 30

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirty

 _"String him up," Hades ordered as two of his thugs walked over to stand above the wounded, pain ridden soul of Captain Hook, then grabbed him by his arms and forced him back to his feet while they dragged him over to the middle of the dungeon that was the God of the Underworld's throne room. "Remove his coat and shirt, then make sure that his arms are stretched out nice and tight. Lock his ankles in shackles as well. Oh… and hand me his hook. I can't very well have him use it to try to break free from the chains. Besides, I have to deliver the Savior a message and his hook will be a nice touch to add a little fuel to her fire."_

 _"Do with me as you will, but... no matter what you do… to me, Emma will find… find a way to destroy you," Killian answered weakly, but with confidence as two stone posts rose up from beneath the floor while the two minions chained their captive to them, his right arm by his wrist and his left by the crook of his elbow, since Hook didn't have a hand there to keep from pulling what was left of his wrist out of the shackle. "You will regret going up against her and her family."_

 _Hades laughed as he walked over to his throne to pick up a lash, or a cat-o'-nine-tail, and cracked it in the air just inches from Hook's face, then responded cruelly into his ear, "I already regret it. Not because I fear that they'll defeat me. No, but because they want to ruin all of my hard work and because they're causing me grief. They will pay for their trespasses soon enough, but you Captain, your torment has just begun. And I'm going to enjoy it, every moment of it, immensely."_

 _Killian closed his eyes and clenched his fist as he prepared for more pain that he knew was about to come, while Hades stepped back and cracked the whip in the air once again, then he asked smugly, "Tell me, Hook… What is worse? Knowing that I am going to make you suffer for the rest of eternity, at least until I get bored with you and pass you off to my demons in a deeper part of this hell we're all trapped in, or knowing that you are responsible for condemning the woman you love with all your heart and the rest of your loved ones to their own personal hell along with you? If only you didn't have to be such a martyr and a hero. If you had just allowed the darkness to consume you so that the Savior would have killed you for hating you, then she never would have followed you down here. Oh well, c'est la vie."_

 _Suddenly without warning, the first stroke of the lash struck his back as Killian wanted to cry out from the agony, but he wasn't about to give Hades the satisfaction of seeing his pain, so he bit his tongue and kept his mouth closed. A second lash came and a third, while again he kept quiet._

 _This wasn't the first time Hook had been whipped in his long life. In fact, he had been whipped several times while enslaved by Captain Silver. He was used to feeling pain and having to suppress it to avoid his captors' satisfactions of seeing him suffer. However, this beating was somehow far worse than ever before and Killian didn't know if he had the strength to fight against its anguish welling up within him with every strike as Hades continued, over and over again._

 _"Come on, Captain," Hades mockingly called out from behind him as he struck the whip across Killian's back again. "Cry out for me. I know you want to. This isn't no ordinary lash, which I'm sure you've begun to discover by now. It's special. It was given to me by my younger brother, Zeus, for the souls of mine that truly deserve the foul fate they receive from the evils they committed in life. But I'm not good like my brother. I have no compassion and so every soul who has entered my realm, whether they are bad or not, will suffer as I have. This whip, it's embedded with the bone shards of the Titans who died in a great war a long, long time ago before I was banished here by Zeus and the rest of my family living on Mount Olympus. Each fragment, imbued with their own agony, their fear, their despair, their hate… to inflict the ultimate form of torment. It's quite delectable and intoxicating, isn't it?"_

 _"Go to hell!" Killian growled and then was struck once more._

 _Hades swiftly stepped forward and roughly grabbed the back of Killian's head by his hair as he replied angrily, "I'm already there, Captain Hook. And now you're here with me and you will never be free. Gentlemen, take over for me. I have to go meet the Savior who is threatening my kingdom. Have fun."_

 _One of the thugs smiled as he took the lash from their Lord's hand, struck it across Hook's back again and then sneered, "With pleasure, Lord Hades. We'll make sure that he screams."_

All of a sudden, Brennan gasped awake from his son's nightmare and swiftly pushed Milady's body off of him, then sat up from the bed while he rubbed his hand over his face. The woman lying with him woke up, then sat up behind him as she began to play with his hair while resting her chin on his bare shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked callously and began to nibble on his ear lobe. "Was it another nightmare?"

"I saw some of Killian's own torment down in the Underworld," the oldest Jones answered coldly. "He suffered terribly."

The assassin stopped her playfulness as she reached out to pull her lover's head around to look at her and then asked, "This doesn't mean that you're reconsidering all of our plans? Are you going to let his pain make you weak? I thought you were stronger than that. Or did our last few nights together mean nothing to you?"

Brennan leaned in to kiss her lips, then responded, "Don't worry, Milady. Everything will move forward like we planned. Don't forget, I sold both of my sons to a cruel pirate in order to try to save myself and I loved them both very much, just I love Liam as well. I want to live my life with my only son I have left. But above everything else, I care about my own life. It was stolen from me by Killian once. I won't let him steal it from me again. His suffering may hurt my head, but the headaches are worth the reward in the end. His agony won't remain mine forever."

"Good," she exclaimed happily and kissed his cheek, then moved to stand up. "I'll get myself dressed so we can get out of here. You can do the same. As much as I would love to stay and continue to stare at that amazing body of yours, we have business to take care of and your boy to find."

"Don't worry, soon we'll have all the time in the world to be together," he replied smugly and watched her walk into the washroom, then moved to get dressed himself. "You held out a long time, Killian. It took over forty lashes before you finally cried out. And then several more until you finally lost consciousness. I'm impressed."

Killian answered wearily, " _I told you, I won't lose hope or give up so long as I know Emma's out there looking for me._ "

Brennan chortled and then responded, "But you did give up in the end. You may have been rewarded with your life once again. However, you said goodbye to her. You lost hope that she could save you and let her leave the Underworld without you."

" _I knew that if I didn't let her go then, then she would have wound up trapped down there with me and I would rather suffer as I did with Hades for eternity alone, than live with the knowledge that she or the rest of her loved ones were suffering the same fate,_ " Killian replied steadfastly.

"Nonetheless, you gave up," the villain answered smugly. "Just as you gave up your vigor to keep from screaming in pain and to show Hades and his minions your agony, you gave up on your belief that Emma could save you. And in time, you will give up this bravado you're holding onto now. You won't have a choice."

Hook responded, " _That may be true. Maybe in time I would give up and lose all hope that I will never be free of you again while you become the villain that I was. But Emma will defeat you before that happens. Even if I die for her to do so, she will still beat you before I give up. I know her and therefore you do too. You should be scared, Father. Scared that no matter what happens to me, you won't survive long enough to find out._ "

Brennan fought to keep his rising anger under control and then he finally replied, "The Savior may have great power and dark magic might not be able to strike her down, but she does have a weakness and that's you, Killian. I think that maybe it's time I put you to good use and use you against her. Then, we'll see just how strong she really is."

" _She'll fall for your lies if you think pretending to be me will help you do that,_ " Killian retorted angrily. " _And I will fight against you. I've broken through before. I will again._ "

"Not this time, you won't," his father said cruelly. "Not this time." 


	31. Chapter 31

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirty-One

When Emma, August, and Regina all finished taking turns telling their story as to how they had come to be in Liam's and Gael's home in that moment, Liam simply glared at the Savior until she finally spoke again saying, "I can only imagine what you must be thinking right now. Everything we just told you is a lot to take in, but I promise you it is the truth. Yes, your father is alive, but Killian is too. And he's trapped, in the back of his own mind because your father wants revenge. Revenge is powerful and it destroys a person. Killian was once consumed by it, but he broke free and became a hero. That's why he deserves to be saved, not just because I love him. If your father can find a way to let go of his anger, then I will fight to save him too, as I swore to you I would."

Liam stood up from where he was sitting at the dining table beside his grandmother as he responded curtly, "Right, and I'm just supposed to take your word? The word of a stranger who calls herself the Savior and who won't care if my father dies so long as her pirate boyfriend survives? If you think I'm going to help you by giving up where my father is, or was, you can forget it."

"You know, everyone where we come from knows that I've never really been a big fan of Hook's," Regina said quietly. "He caused me a lot of pain in my life too, but despite both of our pasts, Killian has slowly become my friend. And Emma here even more so. You don't believe she's a Savior, that's fine. Believe me, I get it. I used to think the same thing. However, she's proved me wrong, over and over. She even accomplished the impossible when she helped me to let go of my own hate and anger, then made me a friend."

"Maybe this will help you," Regina added as she raised her hand and made a memory of her own appear before them, in hope that it would allow Liam to see that she and Emma were telling them the truth. "We were still enemies at this point, but in the end, Miss. Swan defeated me because I was dark, against her light. It was the first moment since she arrived that I actually felt afraid that my happiness in all of the heroes' misery would be destroyed."

 _Regina was sitting in her office writing notes inside a notebook until she was disturbed by a rumbling noise coming from outside and when she looked out her window behind her, she saw Emma cutting down her apple tree with a chainsaw, then she left her office to confront the woman._

 _The Mayor asked angrily, "What the hell are you doing?"_

 _Emma looked at the dark haired woman smugly and tossed down the chainsaw after cutting off one of the tree's branches as she replied, "Picking apples."_

 _"You're out of your mind," Regina responded._

 _"No, you are if you think a shoddy frame job's enough to scare me off," the Savior answered with confidence. "You're going to have to do better than that. You come after me one more time, I'm coming back for the rest of this tree. Because, sister, you have no idea what I am capable of."_

 _Emma turned and walked away from Regina as she called back to her, "Your move."_

When the memory ended, Regina changed the image to another as she continued, "We came a long way since then and even when I was angry with her after something happened that made me want to go back to being my old self, Emma helped me through it. She proved to me here that she wasn't just a Savior for heroes, but for all of us who are willing to try to become one."

 _"Regina?" Emma called out from outside of the Mayor's office door after she tried to open it to enter and failed to be able to, while Regina was sitting on the floor inside within the dark. "I know you're in there. I can see the light's on."_

 _"I know this is all... complicated, but you can have happiness," Emma stated again with sincerity when Regina didn't answer her. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but you just have to fight. Okay, if you won't, I will. Henry brought me to Storybrooke to bring back the happy endings. My job's not done until I do that for everyone, including you."_

The image disappeared when Emma left the office, then Regina lowered her hand as Emma nodded at her in gratitude, then looked over at Liam again and spoke up saying, "I realize this doesn't do much to convince you that our word means much of anything. But if I can help the Evil Queen to see the good within herself and bring her the happiness she deserves, can't you trust that I can do the same for you and your father?"

Liam turned back to her again and replied, "Truthfully, I don't know if I can trust you or not. I guess I'll find out when we find him and Captain Hook. If he and that woman are still there, they're staying at the tavern in town where I work under a vile man by the name of Robar Dulaque."

"Robar Dulaque… I know that name," Regina said while she tried to think of where she might have heard of it.

"You should know it," the young man answered curtly as he turned to the former Queen again. "He used to work for you. And now he does again, according to him."

Regina quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The teenager chuckled and pulled out a parchment from his pocket, then handed it over to her as he replied, "You called for all able-bodied men to come to work for you again, to become your new army of Black Knights, didn't you?"

"It's just like we told you, Regina isn't the Evil Queen any longer," August responded firmly.

"August is right," Emma added. "It's her evil counterpart who's behind all of this."

All of a sudden, the door of the small hut, as well as a large section of the wall blew as smoke filled the room, causing everyone to duck for cover while they coughed and struggled to breathe. When the smoke cleared enough, the heroes stood up just in time as the Evil Queen strutted inside the shelter with a smug look on her face, wearing a long red coat with black lapels, black leather pants and boots, and a fancy black and red hat with a long black feather on its side. It was the same clothes Emma remembered seeing her wear the first time she saw her as the Queen when she and Hook fell into her parents' past.

When her other self entered to stand before them, Regina stated snidely, "Well… well, I was wondering when you would finally have the guts to show your face again."

Liam stared at the two identical women with disbelief as he muttered, "You weren't lying? I can't… can't believe it."

"Yeah well, believe it," Emma answered sternly as she immediately raised her hands to prepare to defend herself and her friends, as well as Liam and his grandmother, while Regina did the same. "We didn't expect you to come all the way out here. We were planning to come find you."

"But after you tried to save the pirate, isn't that right?" Regina Two replied arrogantly. "I am afraid that won't work out for you like you hope it will, Savior."

Emma angrily blasted a shot of her magic toward the Queen, which she was easily able to deflect, then she laughed and spoke again saying, "Come now, I know that you can do better than that. I know exactly how powerful you are, Miss. Swan. And you too, Your Majesty. Yet I've come anyway. I'm prepared for whatever attack you can bring against me."

Regina ignited a fireball in her hand again as she responded, "You don't have a mirror to trap either one of us in this time, so go ahead and make your move. What is it that you're doing here?"

"I've come here seeking leverage to use against the new Captain Hook should he try to betray me," the Evil Queen answered cruelly.

"We won't let you hurt Liam too," Emma replied angrily as she and August stepped directly between her and the sixteen year old, who was holding tightly to the woman raising him to try to protect her for as long as he could. "You're only one woman against the three of us, no matter how powerful you think you are. And you won't bring the villain Killian once was back either. I will stop you. And you know that I can, because I've defeated you before. Leave here now. Go back to your castle and wait for us to come to you. Then you can have your fight, but don't make it here."

Regina smiled and then responded, "You know, Emma… if I didn't hate you so much, I would actually admire you for your bravado. You and Hook really are made for each other. He always did put on the same brave face whenever he stood against villains like me; until now. If only you could see how weak and hopeless he's become, but I'm afraid that won't be possible. I may not be able to kill you because of your own power. However, I can defeat you and lock you away in a tower just like you were when we became trapped inside the Author's book. Our fight begins here and now."

It was then that another unexpected voice sounded from behind the Queen as a man answered, "Maybe so, but your fight isn't only with the Savior."

"You!" the Queen sneered coldly, recognizing the newcomer as she spun around in surprise. "How the hell are you here? You were dead?"

"And yet I live," he replied as he suddenly disappeared in white smoke, then reappeared beside Emma and Regina, both of whom were just as surprised to see him as Regina Two. "It's as Emma once reminded me, I am the greatest sorcerer who has ever lived."

The Evil Queen glared at the sorcerer coldly as she ignited a burst of dark magic within her hand until she snuffed it out upon thinking twice about going against him, then disappeared in a cloud of black, along with the five soldiers she arrived with. When she was gone, everyone in the room turned to the man who just stopped the war from beginning right then.

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye as Emma swiftly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the man while she exclaimed, "Merlin! How… How are you here?"

He smiled as she pulled away and then he responded quietly, "Hook wasn't the only one Zeus saw worthy to resurrect. I may have stalled Her Majesty for now, but she will return."

"And we'll stop her, but we need to help Killian first," Emma answered strongly, fearing that Merlin may harbor anger toward her and especially toward Killian for killing him. "He needs our help. It's why we're here. And to defeat the Queen of course."

"I know," the Sorcerer replied. "I am all seeing. And I have had my eyes on you since you've arrived. Come, let us leave this place. I know where we can be safe from the Queen until we are prepared to go against her in the battle that is to come. It is good to see that you have become who you are truly meant to be once again. Emma, the Savior."


	32. Chapter 32

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Merlin?" August stated with surprise once the sorcerer finished speaking. "As in Merlin from the Legend of King Arthur?"

"Uh… yeah, that Merlin," Emma replied as she looked between the two men, realizing that she hadn't actually introduced them yet. "You clearly know who he is. Merlin, this is August. He also goes by…"

Merlin continued for her, "Pinocchio, the wooden puppet turned into a wooden boy by the wish of a loving father and into a real boy, now a man, for his heroism and bravery. I've seen many futures in my lifetime, including yours, my friend. It's a pleasure."

The younger man smiled and responded, "The pleasure's mine."

"If you two are both done with the introductions, I'd really like to get going," Emma said curtly as she rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration again. "Please."

"Yes of course you're right, Emma," the sorcerer answered with remorse as Emma left the small hut to give herself a few minutes alone.

Regina sighed and then asked, "So, I don't suppose you can tell us where it is we're heading?"

Merlin looked over at the woman who once posed as the Savior to try to protect her friend from Arthur and his knights, then he replied, "Sadly, I see many possible futures until a moment before what is to be comes to pass. Which is why I know not yet where we will find Hook, or the man who possesses his body, and the assassin with him."

"In one of these futures, can you see my father alive and free of the man who killed him?" Liam asked coldly as he stepped forward, followed closely by his grandmother. "Did the Savior tell me the truth, about Hook and what my father did to him?"

"I assure you that Emma did indeed speak the truth of your father's and Hook's dark past," he responded honestly. "As for your own futures, all I can say is that it depends on both yours and your father's choice in the end. Only you and he can decide your fates."

The sixteen year old glared at the sorcerer as he muttered, "I should have expected an answer like that from a man who claims himself to be a seer... or whatever you call yourself."

Regina chortled and answered, "He's a sorcerer actually. And a very powerful one. You really shouldn't judge before you get to know someone, especially when you've already seen some of his power."

"He'll have to discover the truth for himself," August called out as he started to walk to the door in order to find Emma. "Like Emma said, it's time to get going."

"Gael, I need you to go stay with any of our friends here," Liam quickly replied after the others followed after August, as the teenager turned to his grandmother still holding onto him tightly. "You'll be safe there. I'm going with them."

She immediately objected as she responded, "Please don't go. You're the only family I have left. I can't lose you too."

The young man gently set her down on one of the unbroken chairs as he answered, "I have to. I have a chance to save my father and if we can, then we'll no longer be alone. I'm going to be fine. Don't forget, I can take care of myself in a fight. And these heroes, if they really are heroes, they'll protect me."

Everyone continued to follow Emma through the Enchanted Forest as she led with her heart in search for Killian, just as she had done down in the Underworld when she sensed he was inside Hades' prison beneath the replica of their home. She hardly spoke to anyone, while the others all talked quietly amongst themselves.

Morning finally arrived and the sun was warm, but Emma didn't really notice, nor did she care. Though August was involved in the conversations going on around him, he was also keeping his eyes on his friend, who looked even more exhausted and weary than he was and rightly so.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her quietly when everyone else was distracted. "I know what you're going to say. But I thought I would ask anyway, to help pull you out of your mind for a few minutes."

"I already admitted to not being okay," she replied sternly. "What more do you really want me to say? I'm scared for Killian and I'm glad that Merlin is alive again, but it's because of me that he died in the first place, so or course I'm worried too. I have no idea if he blames me and Killian for what happened in Camelot."

The sorcerer joined them as he responded, "I don't blame you, Emma. Neither you nor Hook. It was your love for him that made you take the darkness from me and force it into him to save his life, despite the darkness within yourself. And it was the darkness and Nimue, who forced him to crush my heart. But I still saw how hard he fought to save you and in the end he succeeded when I failed. I know of his sacrifice to rid you and the world of the darkness once and for all. He gave his life and Rumpelstiltskin took that from him, but the two of you together have been able to do what no other Dark Ones have ever been able to do. I should have done more for him in Camelot, as I tried to do for you, but I failed him. That's why I've come here now, to help you to save him this time."

Emma let out a breath of relief as they came upon a clearing within the woods and then asked, "Do you know anything about something the Queen called a binding link?"

"If memory serves, I believe…" he started to answer until he cut himself off as if he became lost in thought.

"Is everything all right?" August asked in concern. "Merlin?"

He finally looked between the Savior and the wooden man child, as Hook so eloquently called him, then replied, "I must leave you for now. But I will return. Be careful."

When the sorcerer suddenly disappeared, Emma cried out, "Merlin?"

"Where on earth did he run off to?" Regina questioned, as their conversations ended. "I thought he was helping us?"

"Oh dear, did one of you so called heroes abandon you already?" a woman's voice asked sardonically while she remained hidden until Milady de Winter stepped out from behind a tree a few feet to their right, causing everyone to turn toward her as Emma and Regina immediately stepped in front of August and Liam to defend them. "That is a shame."

All of a sudden, Jafar stepped out from behind another tree to the heroes' left as he added, "I guess that leaves more fun for us."

Emma glared at them as she asked curtly, "Where's Hook… Brennan? Surely he's here with you too."

"I'm right behind you, Miss. Swan," Brennan responded smugly as Emma swiftly turned to the sound of Killian's voice and saw the man she loved standing behind August while he held his cutlass to her friend's throat. "I suggest that you and the former Queen both keep your hands at your sides, or Pinocchio here will be the first one of you to die."

"It's okay, Emma," August quickly stated, but swallowed nervously when the blade threatening to kill him was pushed tighter against his neck. "I'm fine."

The Savior attempted to move closer as she spoke up saying, "Let him go. He isn't the one you want. He's of no threat to you."

Brennan nodded and answered, "Maybe so, but you are. My son, your friends… They're your weakness. I will destroy them one at a time unless you give me exactly what I want."

"I won't do that," she replied sadly. "I can't just let you walk away in Killian's body and I can't hand your other son over to you either. I promised him and Gael that I would protect him."

"I will protect him!" the oldest Jones responded angrily as the sword cut into August's skin, creating a small cut that began to bleed while Emma's closest friend winced. "He is my son! They are both my sons and I have every right to care for them as I see fit."

Emma suddenly shouted, "This is not caring for him! Trapping Killian inside the back of his mind while you use it and his body for your own selfish desires makes you a monster. Is that really what you want Liam to see you as?"

Liam kept his eyes on his father still inside the body of the man who killed him as he answered worryingly, "Please just hear her out and let her friend go. Emma says she can help you but… This isn't you, Father."

"She's lying to you, son," he replied sternly while Milady walked around the heroes and stood beside Brennan and August as she leaned in to kiss the older Jones in order to taunt Emma.

"Your father and brother are bound together and there's no way even the Savior can free either man," the assassin continued when she pulled back and smiled cruelly at the Savior. "I've got to tell you, Miss. Swan. I find both men quite attractive. I understand completely why you love your man as much as you do."

All of a sudden, the seductress straight out of _The Three Musketeers_ raised a small blade and was about to thrust it into August's leg to hurt him until Emma swiftly grabbed her gun and shot the villain in her shoulder to protect him. Milady fell back a couple of steps and cried out in pain, but the bullet wound began to heal almost right away as she began to laugh.

August slowly pulled a weapon of his own from his belt while Milady sneered and said again, "Sorry, Savior. But it's like I said before, I can't be killed and I don't remain wounded for very long. I'm immortal. Your weapon is useless. You can't defeat me."

Without hesitation, Emma's closest friend, despite Captain Hook's sword still being held against his throat, forced a taser against the assassin's chest and shocked her until she was knocked unconscious, then glared at Brennan as he responded smugly, "I've been on the opposite end of one of these things and even when made of wood, it still hurt like hell. Immortal maybe, but she's not impervious to pain. Sorry to take out your new girlfriend, pal. But I have a feeling Killian would thank me if he could."

"Maybe so, but now you can't defend yourself!" he answered angrily, knocking the taser from the man's hand while he raised his hook around his throat to keep his hold on him, then Emma cried out as Brennan raised Killian's cutlass to plunge it into August's back until the man suddenly gasped in pain and clutched at his head.

"August," Emma stated quickly as Brennan's grip on her friend fell away when he faltered, allowing August to be able to break free, then she swiftly reached out to pull him safely behind her.

Killian collapsed to his knees while he struggled to remain in control of himself and then gasped weakly, "Swan… Behind you!"

Jafar raised his staff and fired a blast of magic toward Emma and August until Regina stepped between them and blocked the power with her own to protect her friends before the Savior could raise her hands fast enough to do so herself. Regina fired back with light magic from her hands toward the genie, but he was able to absorb the blast and then fired it right back at the former Queen, knocking her hard against the ground, then fired another burst at Emma again. She was able to deflect it, but the force of the villain's magic caused both her and August to fly backward until they landed hard against the ground several feet away from Regina. Liam stood frozen behind a tree being unable to do anything, but watch as the battle continued before him.

The genie laughed and raised his hand to strike against the Savior again before she could rise back to her feet, but when he released the dark magic, Killian mustered what very little strength he had and ran forward, shoving Emma out of the way as the blast struck him, then forced him hard into the tree behind him.

Seeing the man she loved crash heavily against the ground at the foot of the tree, Emma scrambled to get to her feet and rushed to him as she screamed fearfully, "Killian!"

"Hey!" Regina shouted angrily to distract Jafar before he could strike Emma again, but when she did so, the genie disappeared and reappeared in front of the dark haired woman as he grabbed her by her throat to choke her.

"Kill her!" Milady ordered as she slowly rose to her own feet and saw that the powerful being under her control had managed to overpower the heroes in that moment, but before Jafar could oblige, Merlin suddenly reappeared as he emitted a bright light that startled everyone and forced the genie to release Regina.

When the light finally died, everyone stared at the sorcerer as he pulled Jafar's lamp from one of the sleeves of his robe and raised it out before him while he glared at the genie saying loudly, "You have been alive too long and caused much affliction and suffering in this world. It's time you suffer your own fate."

Without another moment's thought, Merlin's hand that held the lamp caught fire as the power of the flame burned hotter and hotter until the lamp melted before everyone's eyes until it was finally destroyed, causing Jafar to scream in agony until his body fell dead. The cuffs that once made him a genie unshackled from his wrists and disappeared, then Milady also screamed when the power she felt from being immortal was ripped from her body while she collapsed to the ground and the wound received before when Emma shot her reappeared.

Once the villains were no longer a threat, Emma pulled Killian into her arms as tears came again to her eyes, then she raised her hand to his head where a large gash that was bleeding severely opened up and used her magic to heal the wound. When it was done, Killian slowly began to come around, but as he opened his eyes, he immediately struggled to get out of the Savior's hold and she knew it was Brennan who reawakened instead of Hook.

The man was in control of his son again and slowly rose to his feet while he glared at the blonde woman and said angrily, "You haven't won, Emma. You've all defeated the others, but I'm still in control of Killian's body. He's become too weak and will never have the strength to break through again."

"I'm not done yet," the Savior replied when she nodded to Regina, who swiftly flicked her wrist as Brennan suddenly lost consciousness, while Emma and August gently guided Killian's body down to the ground again. "Merlin, please! Please help him."

"Wait!" Liam cried out angrily. "What about my father? You said you would help him. I won't let you send him back to the Underworld."

Regina moved to stand in front of the young man to defend the others as he started to walk toward them, then responded, "Your father still has no remorse for what he's done. Not only did he nearly kill our other friend when this battle first began, but if given the chance, he would see to it that Hook's soul is ripped from his body and takes his own place in the Underworld. We gave him his chances. He used them up."

Emma lifted her head from where she rested it against Killian's, then looked around them until her eyes fell on Jafar's body as she answered, "Liam's right. I did say we would help his father if we could. Merlin, can you destroy the binding link and pull Brennan from Killian's body? Brennan wants a body, so we can let him take over Jafar's."

"A binding link is among the darkest of magic," the sorcerer replied despondently. "It isn't impossible, but let me warn you, Emma. The chances of Hook being able to withstand the agony and surviving… in his already severely weakened condition, I fear not."

"I refuse to believe that," she responded quietly as she pulled the man she loved closer and ran her fingers through his hair. "Killian has always been strong. But if he does die, I can give him half of my heart to bring him back before his soul has a chance to leave his body. Just as my mom was able to do for my dad. I was willing to split it in the Underworld. I can do it now. My heart was always meant to be his. I won't lose him again. And I certainly won't condemn him to suffer while his father keeps complete control of his body for the rest of his life."

Merlin looked into the Savior's eyes and saw her unwavering determination and then nodded as he answered, "Very well. Lay him against the ground. And hold him tightly."

Emma did as Merlin said with August's help, then leaned down to kiss the man she loved as if to give him strength and when she was ready, she and August held him firmly against the ground while the sorcerer laid his hands over Killian's chest where the binding link had been burned into his skin above his heart. Powerful magic began to flow through him into Hook and for a moment it didn't seem as though anything was changing until he suddenly screamed as his body began to writhe in unimaginable pain.

Several minutes passed and the worse Killian's anguish became while Merlin continued to struggle to break the magic of the link, the harder Emma cried and the deeper her heart broke for him. Brennan's soul was pulled free at last while he cried out as his son did, though not just from pain, but anger as well, as Regina took hold of the wretched soul and bound him into Jafar's body as the Evil Queen had done. Brennan remained unconscious as Liam walked over and knelt down beside his father, then Regina turned back to her friends.

Finally, Killian's screams died and his body stilled as Merlin fell away having become very weak from the strain. When he did so, the heroes could all see that the link was gone and August bent down over his chest to listen for a heartbeat he feared was no longer there. Emma didn't need him to tell her Killian was gone as she immediately ripped out her heart and carefully split it into two halves before placing the pieces where they belonged, then pulled him into her arms again as she held his body tight and lifted his head against her own, waiting for the miracle she prayed would happen, happened.

Emma kissed his forehead tenderly and whispered into his ear, "Killian, please come back to me. I love you. I will always love you."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Killian suddenly gasped awake as his eyes shot open, then struggled to breathe through the immense pain that flowed all over his body. Emma's cries changed from those of sorrow to relief and joy while she gently turned his head in hope to get him to see her as she looked into his eyes.

"Em… Emma…" he finally uttered and then closed his eyes as he fell into a deep sleep that he desperately needed.

"You did it," August stated softly and then backed away in order to allow them to be alone.


	33. Chapter 33

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirty-Three

Once Killian started breathing again and Emma held him tightly within her arms, Merlin slowly rose back to his feet with a little help from August, who looked at the sorcerer worryingly and asked, "Are you doing okay? You look beat."

The man smiled as he nodded and answered, "I'm just fine. Thank you. If beat means a little tired, then yes I am. However, everything has worked out the way it was meant to."

"Although, he will remain very weak for awhile," Merlin continued as he sadly looked down at Hook, then between Emma and August. "I know what's in his heart and his mind and again I am sorry for not being there for him before in Camelot. Perhaps if I had, none of this would have happened. I know of each of your strengths as I have seen many futures that resulted from your bravery to stand against the evils of this world and yet all of you still amaze me. I am very fortunate to know each of you."

"Exactly where did you disappear to?" Regina asked sternly as she looked between her friends, the young man still kneeling over his unconscious father now inside the body of yet another man, and finally turned to lock eyes of the sorcerer. "Earlier, you left us and we were nearly killed before you got back. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you came back when you did, but…"

Merlin turned to her and replied, "While we spoke before this battle began, a vision of Jafar's attack came to me and I saw the only way to defeat him, so I left in search for it, with confidence that each of you would be able to fight them long enough for me to return with the genie's lamp. I was right."

The former Queen nodded and looked down at the assassin still down on her hands and knees on the ground as she was struggling to come to terms with being her old self again before the three wishes had been granted to her, then Regina responded, "That's good, but where exactly did you find the lamp? I would have thought Milady would have kept something so valuable on her, somewhere."

"I found it tuck away within a safe inside the Captain's quarters onboard the Jolly Roger," Merlin answered as he walked over and knelt down beside Liam, then gently placed a soft hand down on his shoulder. "Your father will recover, much faster than that of his second son I'm afraid."

"Captain Hook doesn't deserve to live after all he's done," Liam replied coldly as he slowly raised his head and glared at the sorcerer, then looked over at the man who murdered his father in the first place, as well as at the woman who held him. "This is all wrong."

Emma slowly raised her head that had been resting on top of Killian's as she glared at the youngest member of their group and stated angrily, "Wrong? Do you honestly believe that what your father did to Killian isn't wrong? Your father is alive right now, not because I felt sorry for him after all he did to hurt the man I love, but because I know Killian would want me to find a way to save him if I could and I did. Because I am the Savior and saving people is what I do. Killian's lived with the guilt of killing your father and it plagues his dreams. I'm not excusing what he did, but by wishing to condemn a good man to death or a fate much worse, you're doing the same thing to Killian as he did to your father."

Liam suddenly shouted, "I don't care! We had a good life. We weren't doing anything to anyone and were well beyond the reach of anyone my father may have done wrong to before he became the man I knew him as. He was a good man and Killian turned him into this. A man who I don't even recognize, a man… a man I was afraid of. Captain Hook may be my brother by blood, but I will never treat him as such. I don't want anything to do with him and when my father recovers…"

"When your father recovers, we'll be back onboard the Jolly Roger on our way home to Storybrooke," Emma finished for him sternly. "He'll be confined to the brig, along with Milady here, and once we're home, they will be imprisoned inside our jail for all they've done, to Killian and to the rest of us. You and your grandmother are welcome to come with us back to or world if you want to remain with him. If Brennan can learn to let go of his hate for Killian, as Killian has long since done for the monster that he had been hunting for centuries before we met, and can live among all of us civilly, then we will set him free. Or if you prefer, we can also send you both back home, but until I know for sure that you and Brennan will never be a threat to Killian or to us again, I won't risk it."

"Well said, Miss. Swan," Regina responded smugly. "But unfortunately, we're all forgetting something very important. Before we leave this forest, we still have one more villain we have to take care of. If you have any ideas on how to do that this time, I'm all ears."

August finally spoke again saying, "Actually, I think I might have an idea. The Evil Queen may hate Emma for being the Savior and for coming to Storybrooke to destroy everything she worked hard to accomplish, but if there's anyone she hates more, it's you Regina. I certainly mean no offense, it's just true. You did force her down and went against everything she expected you to be, then tried to kill her."

Regina answered, "No offense taken. I know this better than you do. Go on with your plan, puppet man."

"Emma told me that what she wants is an all-out fight, in order to see which of you is stronger," the Savior's closest friend replied confidently. "Why not give it to her?"

"And I believe I know just the way to do that," Merlin added and then swiftly snapped his fingers as all of them disappeared from the small clearing of the forest within clouds of white and purple smoke.

Back at the Queen's castle…

After failing to apprehend the youngest Jones thanks to the reappearance of the sorcerer from Camelot, the Evil Queen returned to the confines she had long ago become accustomed to since she became engaged to Snow White's father, before the ten year old brat spilled her secret that got the love of her life killed.

When she sat on her throne, the few of her Black Knights she had already enlisted appeared and bowed before her while they awaited for further instruction, then she finally turned to them as she ordered, "Go to the pirate's ship still run aground where I left it and find me the genie's lamp. With how that assassin dresses, she can't be carrying it on her and therefore would have hidden it someplace she believed it would be safe."

One of the men asked nervously, "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but what would you need a genie for, if you're more powerful than those heroes?"

"I am more powerful than they are!" she bellowed angrily as she suddenly shot a fireball at the knight and turned him into ash for questioning her orders. "The Savior and my other self may have bested me when they brought Merlin into their fight, but they didn't defeat me. After all these years, I am still here. Now go and do as I say, or you'll wind up a pile of ash just like your friend."

"Yes of course, Your Majesty," the remaining four men nervously responded as they bowed before the Queen once again, then left the room so that she was alone.

All of a sudden, a hooded figure strutted into the room after they were gone, then stopped in the center of the floor and pulled back the hood of her cloak to reveal herself as she called out smugly, "You really shouldn't have sent your only guards away. Although, it's not like they really would have done you much good."

The Evil Queen smiled as she said coldly, "Well... well… well, if it isn't Miss. goody two shoes. I am certainly surprised that you would be so brave as to come here to my castle to confront me, but impressed. All alone?"

"My friends are exactly where I need them to be at the moment," Regina answered as her other self stepped down from the throne and slowly walked toward her. "I've come here to face the demon I created once and for all and this time, I'm no longer afraid of you."

"You should be!" Regina Two replied as she suddenly fired a burst of magic at her good half, which Regina was easily able to deflect, then did the same as her own burst also was repelled. "We may be evenly matched in power and skill even if you do now fight with light magic, but I'm stronger than you are and always have been. Why do you really think that little Snow spilling your stupid secret allowed you bring me out for so long?"

It was then that Emma swiftly appeared behind the evil double as she raised her hands that began to glow and fired her power, which the Evil Queen immediately blocked while the Savior responded, "That isn't what matters. What matters is that she became the hero she really was all along until Cora corrupted her. You were only awakened because your mother manipulated you and brought you out."

Merlin also transported into the room concluding the triangle of heroes that now surrounded the Queen as he also fired his own magic that she used her other hand to deflect as well, as she struggled against the magic coming at her from two sides, then the sorcerer continued, "Light will always defeat the dark, no matter how enticing evil may be."

Regina Two groaned at the strain, then ignited her own power within her to fight back against them as she glared at her other self and cried out, "Is this how you really think you're going to beat me? By letting your friends fight your battle for you?"

"I was never very good about letting my friends or anyone do anything for me," Regina snarled back and raised her hands, then with as much strength as she had inside of her, fired light magic at the evil part of herself while the woman began to scream as the power began to consume her while she struggled to shield herself against it. "But it's because I have friends now that I have the strength and power I need to defeat you once and for all. You're all alone, Your Majesty. There's only one Queen standing in this room and that's me. I'm stronger than you are!"

"This… isn't pos… possible!" she screamed out angrily until the Evil Queen suddenly burst apart into a thousand fragments of light, knocking the heroes off their feet and then the fragments scattered and faded into nothingness.

Emma slowly raised herself up from the floor as she exclaimed quietly, "I can't believe it. Regina, you did it. You beat her!"

Merlin stood before Regina could, then walked over to help her up and stated, "Well done."

"I'm sure you saw more than one conclusion to this fight," the Mayor spoke again. "Did you believe that this one would be what happened?"

"I never doubted you," the sorcerer answered confidently as he took her hand in his and then kissed it gently. "Not even for a moment."

Emma smiled sadly as she replied, "We'll celebrate when we get home. I need to get back to Killian."

The Savior vanished, then swiftly reappeared onboard the Jolly Roger as she ran down the stairs that led to the Captain's quarters where August was watching over the man she loved who was lying unconscious and very ill upon his bed and when she knelt down beside him, her friend said quietly, "He's still holding on, but he's burning up. The strain of everything that's happened, not to mention the hit he took…"

"The sooner we can get home to Storybrooke, the better he'll become," Emma whispered as she traced her fingers over the lines of his face, while tears silently fell down her cheeks. "The Evil Queen has been destroyed. Regina won. Have Brennan, Milady, or Liam given you any trouble?"

"They're still down in the brig where we put them," August responded assuredly. "The boy's father awoke and is angry just like we expected him to be. He's perfectly fine, which I suppose is a good thing, but I can't help wishing that he was suffering too."

Emma nodded, then she looked over at her closest friend and stated sincerely, "Thank you, August. Not just for coming with me, but for helping me save Killian. And for watching over him for me. As soon as Merlin and Regina come back with Liam's grandmother…"

August nodded as he finished for her, "We'll be underway after Regina opens the portal and we'll be back in Storybrooke where we belong."


	34. Chapter 34

It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter Thirty-Four

Back in Storybrooke…

A few days passed since his mothers and August disappeared from their world onboard the Jolly Roger in order to save Killian and to defeat the villains who once again were fighting to destroy their happiness. Though David, Snow, Marco, and Zelena were all worried about their loved ones, Henry was scared for them, scared for Emma and Killian mostly, and spent as much time down on the docks as he could between school and meals, cleaning and repairing the other ships for their owners while he waited for the rest of his family to return. Violet joined him when she could as well, as did his grandfather.

On the third afternoon, Henry was sitting on the edge of the dock wading his feet in the cool water surrounding the harbor, while he was reading through more of the stories from the books he hadn't finished yet. David walked up behind his grandson, then carefully sat down beside him, but didn't say anything right away.

"Did you come to go swimming, or are you here because you're worried about me like you are about Mom?" the fifteen year old asked to break the silence, then lowered the book to look at him.

"I'm just as worried about them all as you are, especially our daughter and Hook," the Prince responded resolutely. "Emma can take care of herself, but Hook… Don't tell him I ever said this, but I'm more worried about him right now. When we were in the Underworld, I actually admitted to him that he had come to grow on me. And exactly like you'd expect he would, he rubbed it in my face. I'll never admit I care to him again."

Henry laughed as he replied, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. What if Mom isn't able to save him this time? She'll be devastated just like my other mom. We've already lost so many people in our lives; Robin, Graham, Merlin, the Apprentice, my dad… When Mom first became the Dark One and we lost her, then Killian died to save her and the rest of us, it was the first time I ever really felt completely hopeless. And again when Robin died and was worried that she would finally undo all the good she's done by becoming the Evil Queen again. I don't want to ever feel that way again and no one else should have to either."

David looked over the ocean and smiled upon seeing a ship appear in the distance below the horizon now coming toward them, then pointed it out to the teenager as he answered, "Don't worry, Henry. That is never going to happen."

Onboard the Jolly Roger…

 _As Killian was chained up over the green pool he came to know as the River of Lost Souls and was risen above it, Hades walked on the platform below while he spoke up saying smugly, "Now, I want you to think about why you're here. You tried to escape. You freed another prisoner. You refuse to do what I ask, and do you know the most important reason?"_

 _"I couldn't begin to guess," Hook responded weakly as he strained and struggled to breathe through the pressure within his back and chest from the rusted old chains holding him captive._

 _"Hope," the God of the Underworld replied when he looked up at his prisoner and continued, "You and your colleagues brought contraband, hope, into my world, and that is strictly forbidden. And despite some... creative beatings, I still see hope in your eyes. Now, I would like that to be gone before you reach the water."_

 _"You have interfered with my carefully cultivated existence," Hades sneered as he lowered Hook down again with his magic so that Killian was eye-level with him, causing the hero to groan in pain. "So... I am going to hurt you. Then I'm going to collect your friends and hurt them. So there's going to be no one left to save you."_

 _When his head became engulfed again in blue flames, before he walked away the villain stated finally, "Feel free to go mad."_

Emma continued to sit with Killian while he recovered from his torment and fought to break free from the many nightmares that plagued him as he did so. Even though his fever slowly lessened as the Savior used her magic to try to heal him the best that she could, he had yet to awaken.

August quietly walked into the room after they passed through the portal Regina summoned using the Apprentice's wand, then stood beside his friends and asked, "How is he doing? Have there been any changes?"

"Not really," she replied curtly as she wiped away a tear from her cheek. "His fever is going down, but his nightmares are constant. I can't wake…"

"Sw… Swan," Killian muttered as he struggled to fight his way out of the blackness that surrounded him within the fog of his mind. "You should… shouldn't have co… come. Don't deserve… I don't de… serve… Emma!"

All of a sudden he gasped awake and struggled to break from their hold, believing himself to be a prisoner still. However, the woman who loved him pulled him close while August swiftly grabbed his legs to try to keep him as still as possible and when Killian slowly settled down, he closed his eyes against the pain in his head until Emma leaned down and kissed him.

Finally she stroked his cheek as she said quietly, "It's all right. You're safe again and I'm right here. Your father's gone."

Killian weakly opened his eyes again to gaze up at her and then whispered, "You… saved me, a… again."

"I always will," she answered while she helped him to sit up. "August and Regina helped us too. So did Merlin. But don't worry about that right now. I'll explain everything later once you're better. We just passed through the portal that brought us back home. We'll be at the docks in a few minutes."

"Than… thank you," Hook spoke again as he looked over at August, who only nodded and then stood up to leave them alone before they became crowded by the all of their family and friends.

Before he climbed the stairs, August turned back to them as he responded, "I'm glad you're going to be alright, Killian. I look forward to getting to know you now that I'm back to myself again too."

Once he was gone, Killian looked away from her and Emma recognized the shame, then laid her head against his as she stated, "I know that you're starting to remember everything that happened. Killian, you can't keep blaming yourself for all of the pain you think you caused them. What your father did to you… the things he and Liam said… Please don't let them destroy you."

"Will I always be… forced into the service of others?" he asked fearfully as he closed his eyes and let a tear fall. "My whole life… first Silver, Rump… Rumpelstiltskin, the darkness and now… my father. When will I truly be… come my own man?"

"You are your own man now," the Savior replied without question. "You're finally free and no one will ever make you feel like a slave again, I promise you. Now we share a heart just like we were always meant to. I don't like that you had to die again for it to happen, but… You came back to me because a part of you deep down believes you're worthy to have your happy ending, even if most days you don't. I can't lose you again, Killian. You promised me back in Camelot that you would never stop fighting for us and neither will I. Don't break that promise now."

A wave of pain passed over him again and so without saying more, he simply pulled her close allowing her to hold him until they felt the ship slow down, then finally dock. She could feel his body trembling against her. Therefore, when she rose up off the bed, she pulled his arm across his shoulder and helped him walk as August met them at the top of the stairs to help them as well. Their family and friends were waiting for them just like they knew they would be as they cheered to welcome them home.

Regina looked back at the Savior and Hook as she smiled, then said, "We all survived and made it back. I owe you both a lot for all you've done to help me, not only to defeat my other self, but also helping me through my pain and making me your friend even though I made it difficult for you."

Emma answered, "You paid us back, believe me."

"And Hook… Killian, I'm so sorry for my role in all of the pain you've suffered through," the former Queen added sincerely. "We'll take care of your father and brother for you."

Killian nodded weakly as he started to collapse against Emma until August tightened his grip, then carefully helped Emma to escort him off the ship and onto the dock. While Zelena reached out to hug her sister and Marco did the same with his son, David, Snow, and Henry rushed to Emma and Hook and swiftly guided them through the crowds when they saw how sick their friend was, then once they were clear, Emma whisked herself and Killian back to their home after her father told them they would meet them there.

"Emma!" Snow called out as she, David, Henry, and August all arrived and let themselves in. "Emma, we're here."

"I'm sorry," the Savior responded quietly as she walked down the stairs that led up to the upper floor and her bedroom. "Killian's still pretty sick so he's resting now. His father did a real number on him."

Henry hugged his mother and then stepped back as he asked worryingly, "So, you saved him then. I mean… his father's no longer inside of him?"

Emma patted his cheek as she replied, "Yeah, kid. That bastard isn't in him any longer and Killian's free. He'll be alright, but he's blaming himself. Not Brennan, or even the Evil Queen."

"And what about them?" David asked quickly. "We saw Milady, Jafar, a kid about Henry's age, and a woman come off the ship with you, but…"

"The Evil Queen is dead for real this time," their daughter answered. "Regina was able to destroy her with a little help from me and… Merlin. He's alive again, having been resurrected by Zeus just like Killian was. He stayed behind in the Enchanted Forest so he could return to Camelot. The boy is Liam, Brennan's son that he was looking for and the woman, his grandmother. We brought them back with us so that they could be with Brennan, who is actually now in Jafar's body. Jafar died by Merlin's hand. Until another solution presents itself… I promised Liam that I would help his father survive if I could, so long as I was able to save Killian."

When they all sat down to listen to the rest of their story, Snow continued to question her as she asked, "How did you save him? What about the uh… the binding link?"

The Savior struggled to keep from crying again as she looked over at her mother and responded sadly, "Merlin was able to destroy its magic and pull Brennan out of him, but… the agony was too much. Killian died and so I split my heart for him like you did for Dad, like I wanted to do for him down in the Underworld. I don't regret it, I love him."

"Both Brennan and Liam are angry and want to see Killian dead," August continued for Emma as the Charmings hugged. "So, for now they're going to have to remain imprisoned in the jail."

"If they can let go of their hate and anger like Killian, Regina, and Zelena were able to do, then they'll be welcome to remain here in Storybrooke among us so long as Killian's okay with it, or free to return to their home in the Enchanted Forest," Emma replied. "I won't risk them hurting Killian again."

Snow smiled and David nodded as he replied, "We're just glad that you made it home again and that you're all alright, mostly. When Killian's well again and up to it, we'll celebrate his recovery, your return, and Regina's victory over the Evil Queen at last as well. We knew that you could do it, Emma."

Henry added, "You won."

Six nights later…

"Good evening, love," Killian spoke quietly as he walked into their bedroom in their home as Emma was preparing for bed, after he had spent the last several nights again onboard his ship despite Emma telling him he didn't have to hide his nightmares from him any longer. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"This is your home too," she answered quickly as she rushed into his arms and held him tightly for as long as she dared to without hurting him. "I wish you could understand that."

He raised her head gently with the side of his hook while he ran his fingers through her hair and leaned in to kiss her, then responded, "Aye, I know it is. I only meant to say that if you'll have me lie with you again tonight, then… I miss you terribly when I'm not with you. I know you think it unfair that I'm afraid to tell you all about my misery, but Emma I…"

She laid a finger over his lips to stop him from talking and replied, "You don't have to explain, but your nightmares will only go away if you talk about them. Your father can't hurt you any longer because you defeated him by surviving and I won't let him or Liam harm you. I miss you too, Killian. And I love you. Please never shut me out again."

"I won't," Hook sincerely answered and then kissed her again. "I love you too, Swan. I don't know what I would have done if my father or the villains would have hurt you. It would have destroyed me."

"Let's just enjoy tonight together and tomorrow we'll have the celebration my parents are throwing," Emma responded and laid down on their bed beside the man she loved. "Oh, did you talk to Henry? He was really worried about you."

Killian replied, "Aye. I'm taking him out on my ship, our ship, tomorrow. Come with us."

Emma smiled, then answered, "Aye. I would love nothing more to go out into the ocean with my pirate and our son."

The End


End file.
